


In a world of disasters

by Sakana_Byul



Category: NCT (Band), NINE PERCENT (Band), TFBOYS (Band), Weki Meki (Band)
Genre: Bottom Lee Taeyong, Cadet Jaehyun, Eventual Smut, M/M, Pacific Rim AU, Pilot Johnny, Ranger Taeyong, Ranger Ten, Taeyong falls in love, Top Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, but he’s afraid of it, due to an accident years back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-04-30 17:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14501538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakana_Byul/pseuds/Sakana_Byul
Summary: Taeyong returns to the jaegar training program 5 years later, only this time, as a ranger. And there he meets cadet Jung Jaehyun.Or in other words, Taeyong is afraid of falling but Jaehyun is ready to catch him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo I was really inspired to write a Pacific Rim au after watching Pacific Rim Uprising a few weeks ago. So here I aim with another Jaeyong au. 
> 
> For anyone who is not familiar with the Pacific Rim universe please do watch the two movies. They’re absolutely great! But in short Kaijus are giant monsters sent by the precursors through the breach. Jaegars a giant machines needed to be operated by two pilots that are compatible. Meaning their brains can connect with each other, sort of. This au takes place between the timeline of the two movies, which is 2 years after the breach was closed. Many people have been protesting against jaegars still being operated and many jaegars have been sent to be scrapped thus why there weren’t many jaegars left. 
> 
> Happy reading! I’ll try to update as much as I can. This will be a short fic though.

Taeyong scanned the room he was in. It was exactly how he remembered it to be. 

Grey walls, 4 beds lined up against each side of the wall, the lights, and the people. 

“Ok recruits! This is Lee Taeyong, your new ranger. He will be here as replacement for Ranger Yuta, Who unfortunately hurt himself a while back and his healing will take some time. Taeyong and I will be your rangers and will be in charge of you lot. Treat him like how you treated Ranger Yuta and hopefully we’ll all get along just fine,” the man next to him, Ten announced to the room full of cadets, all lined up by their bunks. 

“Yes sir!” They shouted out in sync. A little too loud, it hurt Taeyong’s ear drums a little. It has been that long since he was in a compound. 5 years was a long time. 

There were 9 cadets in the room, 7 guys, and 2 girls. Taeyong wasn’t surprised with the ratio, he was just glad that there were girls who would volunteer their lives to fight against kaijus. 

The two girls looked the exact opposite. One was short, around 5 foot, and looked like she couldn’t hurt a fly. She looked Korean, maybe from Ilsan? The other girl was a Caucasian and could probably be taller than Taeyong, and she held a cold icy glare. Taeyong wouldn’t be surprised if she was Russian. The time he spent training and fighting he met a whole bunch of Russian girls that were tall, large and scary. This girl seemed to fit into that description. 

The male cadets were all Asian. Some looked like they’ve just graduated from high school, others should be a little younger than Taeyong. There was this boy, a kid, looked like he was what, 16? With lilac hair and an impish grin on his face.

There was this other guy, standing tall with his feet shoulder width apart and a stern expression set across his face. His hair was dyed strawberry blonde, which complemented his god like visuals. He looked like he came here with a goal and was very set on it. Taeyong liked cadets like that, treating their training as an important task and not just here to fool around to avoid university, or to get the fame of a jaegar pilot.

This guy reminded Taeyong of him. 

“Hey Tae, do you want me to show you around? It’s been a long time since you were here, things have changed, quite drastically,” Ten nudged him and cut him out of his thoughts. 

Taeyong cleared his throat, “Yeah sure,” and followed the Thai male out of the room. The moment the door closed he could hear the banters and talks of the cadets. Just like old times. 

“I know it was hard for you to come back, especially after what happened. But I’m glad we have our best pilot back with us in the game.,” Ten grinned as he took a turn to the left, which Taeyong followed. 

Taeyong chuckled to himself. “Best pilot is a bit too much of a status to hold. I’d like the keep a low profile while I’m here.” Taeyong looked up to study the ceilings. They were covered with metal pipes and was painted dull grey, not much changed on that part, only the paint has faded quite a bit. “So, What major changes happened to this place?”

“Well first of all, there are much lesser jaegars now. Ever since the breach was closed we’ve been losing pilots and jaegars. Many jaegars are now being sent to scrap, and our compound are one of the few left.” Ten said with a sigh as they entered the large area right in the middle of the whole compound. “These are all we have left.”

Taeyong looked up, craning his neck to take in the whole scene before him. Ten was right, there was only 3 jaegars in the compound. One was being repaired, two were in perfect shape. It was really different, just like Ten said. When Taeyong was a pilot the very same compound was sending out 5 jaegars pretty much everyday. Some battled Kaijus, others were there to survey the coastal cities. It used to look so magnificent.

“So why do you need me? You just said there are lesser pilots, I’m assuming there’s a lack of cadets, can’t other pilots fill me in?” Taeyong asked as they walked through the corridor. Taeyong muttered a sorry to another female ranger when he bumped into her, who merely shrugged him off. 

“Because Taeyong, Yuta that idiot hurt himself and you are one of the best we’ve got. Believe it or not that group of cadets you’ve just met are the best cadets in this compound. The higher ups want you,” Ten looked Taeyong in the eye, “to train them,” 

Yeah, and be like the failure I was.

The pair passed by several rooms and corridors as Ten explained which room was for what. Currently they’ve passed by the 3 rooms for cadets and the single rooms for rangers. Taeyong found them going down a foreign corridor, one he’s never been to before. 

“They moved the infirmary up here, I think Dongyoung’s inside,” Ten said as he knocked on the door. “You wanna go meet him?”

“I think it’s too late to ask now isn’t it?” Taeyong mumbled under his breath when they heard a ‘coming!’ From the room. 

The door opened to reveal a smiling Dongyoung in casual clothing. 

“Oh.”

“Hi Dongyoung, long time no see,” Taeyong said with a nervous smile. It has been, a long time after all. 

Dongyoung scanned the male from top to bottom, and Taeyong felt like he was gonna explode from the tension between them when Dongyoung let out a smile. 

“You are, a shitty friend you know? Disappearing for 5 years like that then coming back without notice,” Dongyoung brought Taeyong into a headlock and ruffled his hair. “Glad to see you back.”

Taeyong laughed. “Great to see you too.”

Dongyoung was the head doctor in this compound. Him and Taeyong met when Taeyong was a cadet and Dongyoung a doctor in training. The two had gotten pretty close when Taeyong visited the infirmary several times. He did have a thing in getting hurt pretty much every training session. Dongyoung was the one who patched him up. Later on did he find out that Dongyoung was the step brother of him, that’s why he became a doctor in the compound. To keep an eye on him. 

Ten and Taeyong were cadets too, training in the same group. The younger of the two had a knack of getting in trouble. Once he almost got himself kicked off the team but was allowed to stay due to his high marks and outstanding performance, though Taeyong always came out as number one in the cadets. Despite the rivalry between the two, they had gotten pretty close. Ten thought Taeyong was too stern and boring but Taeyong was the one keeping Ten out of trouble. 

“You wanna have lunch together?” Ten asked when they reached the dining room. It was a large rectangular room with long metal tables stretching across the room. Currently there were many cadets having their lunch as they talked between themselves. Taeyong caught sight of the strawberry blonde cadet talking to the purple hair boy as they ate. 

“Yeah sure, could you brief me on the cadets too?” 

~

“There are 9 cadets on that team, two girls and seven guys. This girl,” Ten opened up the file to show the basic profile of the shorter Asian girl. “Is Choi Yoojung. From South Korea. She passed the exams with flying colours and is one of the best fighters of the team.”

“This girl is Vera Mikhailov, Russian as you would assume. She’s like the Russian girls we used to train with back then. Hard headed, stubborn, a really good fighter, her and Yoojung are paired since their compatibility was the best out of everyone.” 

“Theres Mark Lee, the Canadian. Is more brainy than a fighter, higher ups are looking into having him join the technical team but he’s dead set on becoming a pilot,” Ten pointed at a picture of a boy who looked like he was surprised. He had large eyes and hair dyed dark brown.

“Lee Jeno, Korean. A good fighter, 40 kills out of 45. Though he needs to brush up on how a jaegar works. He can sometimes forget how to operate a jaegar, but we can work on that.” 

“Wang Jun Kai, from mainland China. His family was killed in a kaiju attack so here he is. Mostly driven by revenge but he is a good fighter and has gotten high marks in class. But the higher ups are doubting whether he’s fit to become a pilot.” Jun Kai is good looking, Taeyong must give him that. Ten flipped the page.

“You Zhang Jing, the eldest out of them all. Is a Malaysian-Chinese. Like Mark, he’s a more technical person but his fighting is not too bad. He’s swift and nimble.”

“Wong Yuk Hei, from Hong Kong. This boy is tall. The only person who can see the top of his head is probably god. He’s a good fighter, 43 kills out of 45 drops. Needs to brush up on his theory. Can be a bit of a dork sometimes.”

Ten flipped the page to reveal another profile. This time it was the purple haired boy. “Zhong Chenle, also from China. The youngest on the team. He was scouted by Hansol when he was in China. This kid is only 17 but he managed to build a working jaegar out of scrap. He said he built it for sale so he could earn money for his family so Hansol got his family a house and a better living standard while Chenle came here to train. Did I mention the kids a genius? His IQ was tested at 157.” 

TaeYong nodded with his eye brows raised. This team definitely was something. 

The page flipped again to reveal the strawberry blonde cadet’s profile. “Jung Jaehyun, passed the exam with the perfect scores. This guy is almost flawless, good looks, great body, great personality- I mean, his stimulator score is 45 kills out of 45 drops.”

Taeyong gasped. 

“I know, he’s literally the best.” 

Taeyong felt someone ‘s eyes on him, it was like this weird feeling where you knew. He looked up and scanned the room- when his eyes met a certain blonde, Jung Jaehyun’s. The latter shared the gaze for a mere second before looking back down at his lunch. Taeyong’s gaze lingered on the blonde for a few more seconds, then snapping his attention back on Ten. 

Their lunch continued with Ten filling in Taeyong on whatever he missed out over the five years and Taeyong taking whatever he could absorb.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaehyun considers himself to be a person with a clear goal. And he works towards it. 

His goal was to be a jaegar pilot.

All his life he’s ever only wanted to be a jaegar pilot, he never knew why. It was as if someone was telling you need to become a jaegar pilot. So that’s what he did. He worked hard, passed the exams with perfect scores and become the second person to do it. He wasn’t sure who the first person was but it didn’t matter. All that matters was that he’s in the jaegar program now.

The training has been fun. He’s a fast learner and managed to get 45 kills out of 45 drops. He’s met many people. One of his best friends was the genius kid in the next bunk, Chenle. Chenle first entered the room a month ago. When he was just a small scrawny kid. Ranger Yuta said Ranger Hansol scouted him off the streets. Chenle was quite the talk, back then. Almost no one was scouted off the street and brought into the Jaegar program without going through any exams. Chenle used to be scared of everyone, but Jaehyun managed to get close to him. The two immediately became best friends. Now he’s getting along with everyone just as well, and also planking everyone along with this other kid from another team. What’s his name? Jisung? 

Every night Jaehyun would lay in bed, thinking about what he was doing in the jaegar program. Why was he even here? Everyone here seemed to have a motive of being here. Jun Kai wanted to avenge his family. Chenle was because he was offered a chance to get out of poverty. Yoojung and Vera wanted to protect the people. Zhang Jing seemed like he was here for a certain someone at first but eventually grew accustomed and was now one of the top cadets. Mark and Jeno was because they wanted to. Yuk Hei... seemed like he was here for the food mainly but he did mention a few times he came here so he could protect his family. 

So what was Jaehyun’s reason?

He’s considered dropping out several times. His place could have been taken by someone who actually had a reason, but he didn’t. He worked hard to get here and whatever the reason was, he wasn’t going to let one measly thing in his head stop him from getting to his goal. Become a jaegar pilot. One day, sooner or later he’ll find out why he wanted to be a jaegar pilot so much. 

And then the day came. 

It was a peaceful morning, just after morning work outs. Zhang Jing and Jun Kai were conversing in Chinese, Yuk Hei and Chenle would join in every few sentences. Mark and Jeno were discussing new techniques of fighting. Yoojung and Vera were combating in the space between the two rows of beds when Ten walked in with a stranger. A very good looking stranger who was also in a ranger uniform. And the moment Jaehyun’s gaze fell in the stranger, it was like he found his reason. Just like a click, Jaehyun found his reason. As cliche as it sounds it looked like the reason Jaehyun wanted to join the jaegar program so much was because of this guy, this stranger in a ranger uniform.

Zhang Jing shouted out something and everyone got into position. Feet shoulder width apart, arms behind their backs along with a stern look on their face. The jaegar program was, a very serious program. 

Ten then announced that this stranger was Lee Taeyong and was going to be their new ranger in replacement of ranger Yuta who was hurt. Jaehyun could see from the corner of his eye that Taeyong was looking at him. Not long after, Taeyong and Ten were out of the room and the chatter continued. 

“Whoa the new ranger is a whole hottie,” Zhangjing said as he fanned himself. 

“Oh shut up, Yan Jun is literally in the same compound,” Yukhei commented, earning a kick from the older Chinese boy. Chenle fell into a fit of giggles as Yukhei pulled a face at Zhangjing. 

“Man, people would think spending so much time with majority men turned you all into homosexuals,” Yoojung said as she jumped onto her bed. “I was kind of jealous when I heard that the girls at the China base had the male cadets after them like crazy.”

“What you think we’d want to date you? No thank you, you’re small but too much to handle,” Jeno said before dodging a slap from Yoojung. “Maybe Vera wouldn’t mind you, you two do have the highest compatibility rate out of everyone here.” 

“I don’t think dating the person you drift with is a good idea,” Mark cut in. 

The room fell silent and Jaehyun looked up from the book he was reading.

“Why?” Chenle asked. Everyone was sitting up in their bed, Jaehyun did the same too, his back leaning against the wall with his pillow on his lap. The book was placed somewhere on his bed.

“I’m not too sure when but a few years ago two jaegar pilots fell in love and started dating. They were drift compatible too, so they piloted in the same jaegar. Till one day while battling one of the pilots was taken away by a kaiju. That accident left the surviving pilot scarred and he left the program,” Mark explained. “The pilot said he could feel the other pilot’s feelings and thoughts, then suddenly it all disappeared, that was the scariest at that time. Even though he still managed to pilot the jaegar back to land by himself.”

“If the West has Rayleigh Becket and Stocker Pentecost we have this dude here.” Vera said in her thick Russian accent. 

The chatter continued. They tried to figure out who the mysterious pilot was but the conversation turned into something else. And then lunch came. 

Lunch was everyone’s favorite. Except maybe break but you got to eat. Everyone loved eating, especially Yuk Hei. Which was why the 183 cm tall boy was charging down the corridor like some mad dog to get to the line first. Chenle said he looks like some giant dog, Jaehyun couldn’t agree more. 

Today’s lunch was rice with beef and spinach. Jaehyun loved beef. His mom used to cook it and it reminded him of home. Him and Chenle had just taken their usual seats in the cafeteria and were chatting when he noticed the two rangers walking into the cafeteria. Ten and Taeyong. 

Jaehyun found himself attracted to the ranger. How he walked and laughed at ranger Ten’s jokes. His gaze followed Taeyong as he sat down with his food. Ranger Ten pulled out a file and started explaining something to Taeyong, where the new ranger seeemed to listen intently. Somewhere in his brain something is telling him to stop looking but can he stop? No. His gaze probably lingered on Taeyong for too long. Maybe Taeyong felt Jaehyun staring at him, thats why the ranger looked up and met Jaehyun’s eyes. 

For a moment, Jaehyun felt himself falling into an endless abyss of Taeyong’s eyes before barely managing to pull himself out and breaking the contact with Taeyong. Something weird just happened, whoa.

“Jaehyun? You listening?”

“Sorry What?” Jaehyun tire his eyes off Taeyong took look back at Chenle, who, had a confused look that immediately switched into something playful. Oh boy. 

“You were staring at someone.” Chenle teased with a playful grin. His eyes were basically non existent when he did that. And he looked like an elf to Jaehyun for some reason. ‘Who was it?”

Jaehyun sighed and pinched Chenle’s cheek. “Just eat your lunch.” 

Chenle poked him several times, trying to get an answer out fo Jaehyun but gave up later. He pouted and went back to eating his lunch. 

Jaehyun chuckled to himself and continued with his lunch too. 

~

Training the next day was same yet different. Jaehyun wasn’t gonna lie but it was weird having a different ranger watching them and training them. 

“That went well,” Jaehyun said with a grunt as him and Chenle disconnected from the system. Chenle nodded in agreement. He was still getting used to the machines used for ‘fake’ drifting and the stimulator. Often times than not he gets quite tired after a drop. Jaehyun wouldn’t blame him, it also took him quite some time to get used to the system and all the stuff about having someone else in your brain thingy. The two of them were drift partners. Though, the two of them didn’t have a particularly high drift compatible rate. Chenle’s original partner was Yukhei and only paired up with Jaehyun because he had the highest compatibility rate out of everyone else in the room. A 39%. Pathetic, but at least Jaehyun has a person to drift with now, instead of Sam the brain. 

“And That makes it a 46 kills out of 46 drops, and possibly a new record Cadet Jung,” Ten said with a smile. The others clapped too. 

Jaehyun felt a blush creeping up his neck as he laughed shyly, his hand rubbing his nape. He wasn’t someone who was particularly fond of attention and he can be rather shy sometimes. This was one of the times. Chenle raised his fist, signalling for Jaehyun to fist bump it. Which he did.

“Good, But could have been better.” 

The claps stopped and Jaehyun looked up, puzzled to see Taeyong with his arms folded before his chest. He had on an unreadable expression that scared Jaehyun a little. He tried to study the ranger’s face, trying to figure out whatever he meant by that. Some part in him felt embarrassed. For ever since he joined this compound everyone had nothing except praises for him. His perfect scores and athleticism- and then Taeyong said that. Some other part in him felt intrigued, intrigued that someone who had just become their ranger was now criticising their best cadet. 

“What do you mean Taeyong? He literally has a perfect score!” Ten clapped Taeyong on the shoulder and made a nervous laugh, trying to lighten to spirit in the room. 

“The righting was good, and you took down the kaiju. But you need to loosen up,” Taeyong said, his gaze directed at Jaehyun. “You were too tense and anxious, that caused the connection between you and your partner to be weak. Instead of letting them into your mind you were to focused on yourself, it makes the job harder. If you improved that you two could probably have taken down the kaiju much faster.” 

“Ah,” Jaehyun nodded with his hands clasped behind his back. His cheeks were hot and he didn’t dare to look at a Taeyong, just the floor. “I’ll work on that sir.”

“I’m sure you will.”

The class continued with several other cadets fighting in the stimulator. The two rangers watched an observed them. Ten gave his usual praises to the cadets while Taeyong pointed out things they could have done and improve on. Jaehyun thank the gods he wasn’t the only one called out or else it would’ve been extremely embarrassing for him. 

“The new ranger really isn’t kidding with the training,” Jeno whispered to him. There was the usual loud exhale of gas as the platform was lowered onto the ground after the current pair, Junkai and Zhangjing took off their helmets. 

“Zhangjing, Good, you’re calm and think things through. Junkai on the other hand, you’re too set of just killing the Kaiju that that is your only motive. What if there are other civilians around? Your choices were made without thinking and it could have killed many civilians.” Taeyong said, his tone hinting criticism that wasn’t present when he commented on the other cadets. 

“Yeah, he seems like a really good ranger, just a little strict,” Mark whispered back. 

“He’s straightforward, will just point out your mistakes and tell you,” Jaehyun whispered too. He had been sneaking glances at the ranger and thank god none of them were noticed. Taeyong stood shoulder width apart and his stance almost never changed throughout the entire time, he was just focused on the cadets’ performance on the stimulator. Jaehyun wondered why Taeyong wasn’t a pilot, Ten did mention that he was the best cadet back when he was in training. What happened?

The trio fell silent as Ten called out the next pair of cadets, Yoojung and Vera. 

Training went on like that with breaks in between. Then everyone had to fight one more round before it was lunch time. 

Ten announced the dismissal and Yukhei was immediately out of the door, bolting towards the cafeteria as Mark and Yoojung trailed not far behind. The Thai ranger had left the room first, saint he needed to go wash up, leaving Taeyong to get his stuff by himself. 

Jaehyun waved goodbye to Chenle who ran out of the room for lunch. He uncapped his bottle and gulped down water. He wasn’t in a hurry for lunch, and he never got Why the other cadets were crazy to get lunch as soon as possible. 

“Um, Jaehyun, right?” 

Jaehyun hummed as he capped the bottle back. “Yeah?” He turned around to find Taeyong standing before him. “Oh, um, yes sir, I’m Jaehyun.” 

Taeyong chuckled, “Please just drop the honorifics. I’m not comfortable with them. Just call me Taeyong, or hyung. I’m 23, you?”

“That would make you my hyung, I’m 20. Can I help you?” Jaehyun asked. His eyes glanced around before landing back on Taeyong. The room was completely empty save the two of them. 

“I was just wondering, was my teaching Alright? I need some feedback and Ten Just loves to throw compliments out of his mouth. I need something real, from the cadets.” Taeyong said with his eyes sparkling under the lights. His eyes, oh god his eyes were wonderful, Jaehyun thought. Especially when they were staring back at him. Taeyong had a small but hopeful smile on his face and Jaehyun probably just died on the inside. “I mean, if you’re comfortable if not I can just leave-“

“It was great,” Jaehyun blurted out before Taeyong could leave. “Just- you were the first to give me constructive criticism and I was quite taken back, but,” Jaehyun chuckled and rubbed his nape. “your criticisms make sense, and I really should work on what you pointed out so thank you.”

Taeyong’s smile stretched into a wider one as his cheeks turned slightly red- was he blushing? “Ah... I thought you were going to hate me for that, I sort of regretted pointing out everyone’s mistakes. I mean, I’m still your new ranger and you guys probably aren’t used to me yet but what am I saying...” Taeyong’s voice trailed off towards the end as his eyes widened in disbelief at the words coming out of his mouth. “Sorry I just have a habit of sprouting out nonsense when I don’t know what to say.”

“Its okay... everyone does that. You should hear what Mark says sometimes when he’s flustered,” Jaehyun joked. Mark did tend to say unbelievable things when he was flustered. Once he accidentally screamed ‘I love you’ at Yuta instead of ‘Yes sir’ when the ranger interrogated him when he was late to training. 

“Is that so?” Taeyong chuckled again. His chuckles were cute, Jaehyun could probably listen to it on replay till the day he dies and not get bored- ok Jaehyun this is getting creepy. Stop it. There was a comfortable silence between them and Jaehyun notices how small a Taeyong was. The ranger was probably up to his nose. Sure Ten was short, but Taeyong was thin. Jaehyun hopes he eats enough because the uniform on Taeyong looks a bit loose. 

“Well, thanks for the feedback, if anyone has something they aren’t satisfied about my ways of training please do tell me. Also, you are an outstanding cadet, Jaehyun. I hope to see you one day in a jaegar and be the best pilot there is.” Taeyong patted him on the shoulder.

“Uh sir- I mean hyung, do you want to join us for lunch?” Jaehyun uttered suddenly, as if some part in him wanted Taeyong to stay. “Ranger Ten said he was going to wash up and you probably want to know the cadets more...”

Taeyong looked taken aback, but still responded with a soft smile, “Sure, it’d Be fun to know the cadets more, and not just your names and nationality.”

Somewhere in Jaehyun’s mind, there was a party of celebration going on. 

“C’mon lets go then, Chenle probably saved me a seat,” Jaehyun grabbed his water bottle, Taeyong got his stuff and they left the room. 

“So hyung, Why aren’t you a pilot? If that’s okay for me to ask,” Jaehyun asked as they walked together towards the cafeteria. There were a lot less people wandering around the corridors now that it was lunch time. The two could walk side by side, and Jaehyun appreciated how Taeyong was so small next to him. Ok Jaehyun stop it with those thoughts. He’s a ranger, not a fellow cadet. 

“No no it’s alright. I was a pilot. I joined the jaegar program when I was 15, graduated at 16 and was a pilot till I was 19. An accident happened and I decided I couldn’t become a pilot anymore. So I left, till the higher ups and apparently the Marshall called me back to become a ranger,” Taeyong replied. “This -lace changed a lot in five years.” 

“Yeah...” Jaehyun muttered, agreeing. “So a cadet at 15? That’s a pretty young age.” 

“I joined when the war was still going on. Many of the cadets, especially the male cadets joined at young ages. Ten is a year younger than me and he joined when he was 14. It was pretty common because the government needed more pilots to fight the kaijus. Now I guess, since the breach is closed people are starting to go on to university or find jobs. So the cadets are much older now.” 

Jaehyun nodded. He wanted to join too, when the war was ongoing but his parents never let him. He only managed to convince them when the breach was closed.

“So why a cadet? Shouldn’t boys like you be off to university now?” Taeyong asked this time. 

“Well, it sounds weird but I don’t know... it feels like it has always been my destiny to become a jaegar pilot? It has always been in my mind that I wanted to be a jaegar pilot I gues,” Jaehyun said with a shrug. 

“Well then, the jaegar program is lucky to have found a gem like you,” Taeyong grinned. “You have the potential to become a great pilot. Though there may not be any kaijus to fight now, and I hope not in the future.”

Jaehyun was about to ask why Taeyong left the program when they arrived a the cafeteria. Luckily, there were three more seats left at the table the cadets usually sat at. 

The two of them sat down, later joined by Ten. Taeyong greeted himself first, then the introductions of each cadet began with their leader, Zhangjing. 

Jaehyun sneaked glances at the ranger next to him as he conversed with the cadets. Taeyong seemed truly enthusiastic about teaching the cadets, even if he didn’t come back voluntarily. 

He felt a pinch on his thigh and he was about to yell when he looked up, and opposite him was Chenle with his devillish grin. Chenle eyed Jaehyun, then glancing at Taeyong. 

‘You were staring at him’ Chenle mouthed. 

Jaehyun glared at him and mouthed back a ‘No I wasn’t’. 

‘Yeah right’ Chenle mouthed back before he giggled and stuffed another spoonful of rice in his mouth. 

Jaehyun swears Chenle will be the end of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this chapter was really challenging to write but hey! I updated! I’m gonna try to write more but I am really bad at updating continuously. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by the end of this week!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who’s confused about the ages of the characters in this fic I’ll just list it out. 
> 
> Taeyong, Ten, Dongyoung And Yuta: 23  
> Zhangjing: 21  
> Jaehyun and Vera: 20  
> Junkai, Yoojung, Yukhei, Mark: 19  
> Jeno: 18  
> Chenle: 17

Taeyong sighed when he entered his room. The large metal door closed behind him as he slowly trudged towards the bathroom. He needed a long hot shower after the long day. Within minutes his clothes were off and neatly folded, piled in the corner of the counter where the sink was. He swung the glass door open and stepped into the shower cubicle. It was weird to have a room by yourself and not share it with another pilot. But those are ranger perks he guesses? 

The shower lever was pulled up and cranked to the hottest. Taeyong didn’t mind the heat one bit, it helped him to relieve at the end of the day. Help soothe those muscles and keep the blood pumping. 

Taeyong stood there under the shower head as water continuously splashed onto his back. He did something he never thought he would do. He approached the cadet, Jung Jaehyun. 

He honestly didn’t know why he did that. He was usually shy and an introvert. Ten was the only person he spoke to since he came to the compound, Dongyoung barely counted, they just said hi and that was about it. Jung Jaehyun however, that boy reminded Taeyong of him. And it hurt. To see someone he loved so much gone and have this young chap who felt just so much like him. Taeyong thought he was over, thought that he healed and five years was enough, but seeing Jaehyun was like opening up an old wound. Taeyong guessed he never really healed at all. He just forgot. He chose to forget. 

He didn’t know why the higher ups and the Marshall wanted him back. He didn’t think he was qualified, how he ran from being a pilot an never came back. He was a coward. But he’s here now, with a broken heart and a determined mind. He was going to train these cadets into outstanding pilots. He might not be here when they graduate, which was in another 6 months time. But maybe he’ll come back and watch them graduate. If they wanted to see him. 

Another twenty minutes in the shower and Taeyong had to physically stop himself from staying there any longer or his skin would peel off. He grabbed a new pair of clothes and hurriedly put them on after drying himself. He didn’t want to catch a cold, he did have the tendency to catch colds often. 

There was a beep from his door, someone must have pressed the door bell. 

“Give me a moment!” Taeyong called out as he pulled up His pants. He had a white shirt on and black knee length cotton shorts. A towel was draped over his shoulders to absorb the water dripping off the ends of his hair. Glancing around the room to make sure nothing was messy, he unlocked the metal door and pulled it towards him, opening the door to reveal Dongyoung in casual clothes and a bright smile. 

“Hi Taeyong, do you mind if I come in? I was hoping we could chat and catch up,” Dongyoung said and held up a bag of chips. “Brought the ones that you like.”

A smile edged Taeyong’s lips as he stepped back to allow Dongyoung to enter. “Come in, it’ll be nice to talk to an old friend.” Dongyoung walked in the room, muttering a thanks as he passed by Taeyong. “Take a seat wherever you want.” 

Dongyoung nodded, sitting on Taeyong’s bed that was tucked away in a corner. He shifted himself to lean against the wall and crossed his legs. 

Taeyong shut the door and locked it before sitting next to Dongyoung. “So, What brings you here?”

Dongyoung hummed as he opened the pack of chips. There was some familiarity to this. Him and Dongyoung used to do this back when Taeyong was a cadet. They would hide in the infirmary while they ate chips and talked away. till Ten or someone else came looking for Taeyong. 

“Nothing much, just wanted to talk, like old days. How are you? It’s been five years... what have you been doing?” Dongyoung asked, tilting the bag of chips towards Taeyong, who took seveeral pieces out and placed them on his palm. 

“It took me a year to recover and actually go out to meet people. Took me some time to be able to build friendships with other people.” 

“The incident hit you pretty bad didn’t it?” Dongyoung said with sympathy hinted in his tone. 

“Yeah... after that I got into university. Got a degree in accounting just a few months ago. I was going to get an actual job at the firm I was interning for. Then Ten showed up and said they wanted me back to train the cadets.” Taeyong placed a chip in his mouth and crunched on it. “It’s funny. Being back here after such a long time.” 

“Loads of things changed since you left. I’m not surprised. You should’ve seen the compound a month after the breach closed. Pilots and cadets started leaving the program. Said that since the breach was closed there was nothing to fight anymore. We’re the few that stayed, Ten suggested calling ourselves the originals,” Dongyoung chuckled. 

Taeyong chuckled too. He laid his head on Dongyoung’s shoulder, like before. Dongyoung smelled the same, it was comforting. 

“Are you dating anyone? Or did you meet anyone that interested you?” Taeyong asked. He was curious since the Dongyoung before didn’t care much about relationships. 

“Dated twice, this girl called Valerie Chu. Taiwanese, really pretty and smart. She was on the mechanics team and knew how to kick butt. She eventually broke it off with me. Left the compound, I think she’s part of a robotics team now.” Dongyoung reached into the bag and grabbed pieces of chips and shoved it into his mouth. Crunching on them before continuing. “Second one was a dude, Sicheng. Chinese, tall, good looking. I thought he was the one for me, then he broke it off saying he was in love this other Chinese dude, Tun? Kun? I think that’s it. So yeah. I’m a lonely bisexual single now. You got anyone to recommend for me?”

“You and Yuta would make a good pair. You’re equally smart asses.”

“Yuta? Nah. He’s too annoying, and we bicker so much Ten screams at us to shut up,” Dongyoung made a face. Him and Yuta were really a reincarnation of Tom and Jerry. Always after each other’s asses. “What about you?”

Taeyong shook his head. “Been scared of building relationships since what happened. You, Ten and Yuta are like my only friends left in this world.”

“And yet you never contacted anyone of us and disappeared for like 5 years.” Dongyoung grumbled And shoved another handful of chips into his mouth.

Taeyong smiled apologetically “How are you? After what happened?”

Dongyoung hummed again and Taeyong could feel the vibrations from his vocal chords. “I guess I had it much better than you. You were there,I wasn’t.”

“But you’re his step brother! You’ve known him since like forever.” 

“Yeah, and you were his boyfriend. You had his heart he had yours. You saw and felt him die Taeyong.” 

The room fell quiet. It took Taeyong everything he could to not think about the incident that day. He knew it would hurt too much. 

Dongyoung was the one that broke the silence. “The cadet, he reminds you of my brother doesn’t he?” 

“Who?”

“Jaehyun, Jung Jaehyun.” Dongyoung sat up, his back leaving the wall. Taeyong lifted his head from Dongyoung’s shoulder to face him. “I saw how you looked at him. During lunch. I heard from the cadets that you even approached him first. I know you too well Taeyong, you’re too shy to even look at a stranger in the eye. He reminds you of him doesn’t he? Of Johnny?”

“I-“ Taeyong felt his bottom lip quiver as he stared into Dongyoung's eyes. “I don’t know- I just felt connected to him.”

“Taeyong, he isn’t Johnny. I felt the same when I saw that cadet. The same stare the same attitude towards their goals- he reminds me of him all too well. It hurts sometimes, to see Jaehyun smile because I can see Johnny in him. But he isn’t Johnny.” 

Taeyong casted his gaze down onto his crossed legs and tried hard not to let the tears fall. 

“I know... Johnny’s dead- He’s never coming back.” Taeyong sniffled. His nose started to feel runny and his head felt heavy. “I thought the five years I left- I thought I was healing. Thought I was better. The moment I came back I realised I wasn’t healing. I was running away, trying to forget. Forget the jaegar program, you, Ten, that accident, Johnny...” Taeyong’s fingers threaded his hair as he felt the tears spill out. It hurt. Hurt to think about Johnny and everything that happened. “But I have to face it, face this. The cruel reality without Johnny. And it’s hard-“ Taeyong hiccuped. He looked up at Dongyoung, who’s eyes were getting red. “Its so hard Dongyoungie- it’s suffocating to even think about him. I hate it- hate myself for being so weak.” His teeth gritted as he tried not to scream, wail, son. “But I need to face this. Johnny’s gone but he will always be the sweetest memory I have.” 

Dongyoung held out his arms and Taeyong crawled into the embrace of the larger male. Dongyoung’s arms wrapped around Taeyong who was in a Fetus position. 

“Its alright Taeyong...” Dongyoung said soothingly. His hand ran down Taeyong’s back trying to calm him down. “It always hurts. It hurt like hell the first week he left. I felt all numb inside and I barely ate. I’ll help you, to face this stupid reality.”

Taeyong muttered a Thanks in between the sobs. 

~ 

Dongyoung and Johnny were step brothers who were a year apart. Johnny was the reason Dongyoung joined the jaegar program, not as a pilot. He didn’t really like fighting and all, he preferred science and medicine. Thus why he became a doctor in training there. He could meet Johnny almost everyday, keep an eye on him. Then one day Johnny brought in a boy around his age to the infirmary. The boy was passed out in his arms.

“Dons, this is Taeyong he uh, fainted during combat. Ranger says he might be over working himself.” Johnny said as he laid the boy down on one of the empty beds. 

Dongyoung immediately tended to the boy. 

Over the span of weeks he watched as his brother spent more time with Taeyong. He saw the love filled eyes of his brother whenever he stared at Taeyong. He saw how gentle Johnny was with Taeyong. His brother was falling in love. 

At first, Dongyoung was jealous of Taeyong. He knew Johnny longer and literally spent their entire lifetime with each other. Who was he to come and steal his brother from him? then Johnny introduced him to Taeyong with the latter actually conscious. They became friends, and Dongyoung came to learn that Taeyong was a very very nice yet shy person. Not to exaggerate, but Dongyoung might have become more attached to Taeyong during their cadet years.

The two often chatted together, usually at night in the infirmary as they ate chips.

He watched Taeyong and Johnny graduate from cadets and become pilots. On their graduation day Johnny was about to give a speech when he asked Taeyong out, to be his boyfriend. His speech was dedicated to Taeyong. About how beautiful he was in Johnny’s eyes, how his day would literally become better whenever he saw Taeyong, how much he’s fallen for Taeyong. That day, he realised Johnny couldn’t be next to him all the time, but he gladly accepted the fact that his brother’s lover was the hardworking and loveable Taeyong. 

Then Johnny left them. It was an accident that left everyone scarred, especially Taeyong. 

Dongyoung remembered him crying himself to sleep that night. The next morning he woke up, begging that the night before was just a horrible horrible dream. But it wasn’t. 

When him, Ten and Yuta went to look for Taeyong to comfort him, they were met with the news that Taeyong had resigned and left. The three of them panicked, they went looking for Taeyong in case he did something stupid. They never found him. Till a week ago, Ten said the marshal found Taeyong and wanted to bring him back as a ranger. 

Dongyoung was happy that they found Taeyong and that he was alright. He wondered how he was like after the incident. More importantly he was glad have his friend back with him, and the only other person that suffered the same loss as he did the night Johnny was taken away.

Dongyoung would die to go back to those days. Where they were all good friends and when Johnny was still around. 

But alas, Johnny was gone forever. And what he didn’t take with him was the pain and sadness that came with his death. Now they were left with a broken Taeyong and a half healed Dongyoung. 

~

Taeyong woke up to an empty bed the next morning. He vaguely remembered crying in Dongyoung’s arms while his friend comforted him. Later on when he cried himself to sleep Dongyoung had placed him in his bed, tucking him in before leaving. 

He got up and went in to the bathroom to wash up. He looked like shit. 

Face pale, eyes red and puffy, his nose looked like someone punched him. Taeyong looked like an utter mess. Not to mention the blocked nose and headache that happened every time he cried. 

He washed up, nevertheless. Tried his best to make himself look presentable and not like some walking ghost. He was here to have a fresh start, to actually heal from the pain. Not run away and forgetting everything that happened. And to start that he has to remind himself that Jung Jaehyun was not Johnny. Johnny is gone, no matter how hard it hurt it was true. Johnny was gone. And Jaehyun isn’t him. 

Taeyong stared at himself in the mirror. He did a decent job. He still had puffy eyes and a red nose but at least he looked more alive. He forced his lips into a smile, “Good luck, Lee Taeyong.” 

His brain racked tens and thousands of excuses to make when Ten asked why did he look like a goldfish. Eventually he decided to just tell Ten that he cried with Dongyoung because of Johnny. The Thai enveloped him in a hug, murmuring words of comfort into his ears and Taeyong had to push him away before he broke down again. 

It was nice to be back. To be with the friends that were genuine for him and loved him for who he was. It was going to be hard, but Taeyong can handle it. 

~

Training went on like normal for the next week or so. Taeyong proved himself to be the best pilot in his times and he was a good ranger. He was straightforward, but his words and criticisms made sense. The cadets soon found themselves improving much more under the guidance of Ten and Taeyong. 

“Your arm,” Taeyong said as he angled Mark’s arm higher and shifted his grip downwards the stick. “Try hitting.” 

Mark nodded and striked at the dummy. His stern focused expression was soon replaced with a surprised one as he gasped at his arms, then at Taeyong who just smiled. 

“Feels better? You should be able to strike with more strength at that angle.” Taeyong patted Mark on the shoulder and said words of encouragement before moving onto the next cadet. 

Jaehyun watched from his dummy, 3 spaces away from Mark’s. 

He really should be focusing on his training but something in him kept making his eyes glance up to stare at the ranger before striking the dummy again. 

“Focus Jaehyun,” Jaehyun said with gritted teeth as he striked the dummy again, this time at it’s stomach, causing it to fall back and hit the floor before bouncing back up and hitting Jaehyun with a smack in his face. 

“Shit...” Jaehyun groaned and dropped the stick. He grabbed his face which he was pretty sure turned red. It stung like hell. He was pretty sure the dummy hit him in the nose, that’s why his eyes felt wet. God damn you, nerves.

“Cadet Jung, are you alright?” 

He felt hands on his arms and he let go of his face. Only to see Taeyong looking at him with concern. Oh. OH. Taeyong was holding his arms. 

“Yeah I just,” Jaehyun sniffled. IT WAS BECAUSE THE DUMMY HIT HIM IN THE NOSE. NOTHING ELSE. “It hurts a little.” 

“Do you need time out? What were you even thinking to hit the dummy so hard,” Taeyong muttered the last sentence as he examined Jaehyun’s face. 

Behind him, Chenle scoffed and Jaehyun glared at him. 

“Just give me a few minutes, I’ll be fine by then. I’m strong and heal fast,” What he said as a joke seemed to change Taeyong’s facial expression. And for a split second Taeyong looked... hurt. Did he say something wrong?

Just like that Taeyong’s usual expression was back like nothing happened. “Alright then. Rest for a while.” He let go of Jaehyun’s arms which fell limply by his sides. “other rest of you practice for five more minutes and we’ll proceed to duelling.” 

The cadets shouted out a ‘Yes sir!’ And continued striking the dummy at different angles. 

Taeyong watched as Jaehyun trudged off towards the wall to grab his bottle and gulp mouthfuls of water from it. Jaehyun said something, that sentence. ‘I’m strong and heal fast’, Johnny said that a lot too back then. Whenever he hurt himself during practice and Taeyong had to physically drag him to the infirmary, he would say that to stop Taeyong from worrying. For a moment he thought he saw Johnny again. 

“Hey Tae, you Alright?” Ten noticed Taeyong spacing out and asked.

“Yeah I just, thought I saw Johnny in Jaehyun. It’s nothing,” He faked a small smile to reassure Ten, who shot him a concerned look before correcting Chenle’s posture. 

Taeyong sighed and gripped his hair. He really needs to do better than this. 

Five minutes later with a little break in between, Ten called all the cadets around for duelling, Jaehyun included. 

“I was wondering, Are you alright with duelling with Jaehyun? There are nine kids and Jaehyun is the best. I was hoping you could duel him and point out anything he has to improve etcetera,” Ten asked during the break. “If you’re alright with it?”

Taeyong had told a Ten about Jaehyun and how much he reminded him of Johnny. Surprisingly, him and Dongyoung weren’t the only ones that saw he resembled Johnny a lot in personality. 

“Yeah sure, I’ll be fine. I won’t start kissing him out of nowhere,” Taeyong said a jokingly and earned himself a friendly punch on the shoulder from Ten. 

When the cadets were all standing in line by the mat, Ten called out their names and the person they would be duelling. 

“Yoojung and Yukhei.”

Jeno snickered about something like the tallest and the shortest. Yoojung shot him a glare. Yukhei however, seemed genuinely worried about duelling Yoojung. Taeyong wasn’t surprised, the girl was small but she packed a punch. 

“Zhangjing and Chenle.”

The said two gave each other a fist bump and said something in Chinese. 

“Jeno and Mark.”

The two seemed pleased, though Mark looked a little worried. Taeyong was looking forward to see how the smartest and the stealthiest would fair during their duel. 

“Junkai and Vera.” 

Vera and Junkai both wore stern expressions as they stood in their stances. Feet shoulder width apart and arms clasped behind their backs. 

“This is gonna be like fighting fire with fire,” Yukhei muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, and for Vera who was next to him to stomp on his foot. The Hongkee ended up shrieking and cradling his foot in effort to make the pain go away. 

“And as for Jaehyun,” the mentioned cadet looked at a Ten intently. The red on his face subsided and he looked better. “You will be duelling Ranger Taeyong. I want to see how you fair with Taeyong. Though I must warn you, he looks small and frail but he was one of the best fighters back then.” 

Jaehyun nodded, feeling somewhat pleased with himself. The rangers recognised his effort and he was going to duel with a ranger. He hopes he won’t make a fool out of himself in front of Taeyong and so many other cadets. He will NEVER hear the end of it if Chenle manages to catch it on a video. 

“Alright, Yoojung Yukhei, you guys are up. Others go sit by the wall and observe. Remember to hear whatever the rangers have to say and not make the same mistake.” Ten said before heading towards to benches where Taeyong was sitting. “You ready? These two are gonna be one sight to watch.”

“Yeah I saw, Yoojung is swift and nimble, though not as strong as Yukhei, her being small makes up for it.” The pair walked into the mat with their respective plastic katanas. “Yukhei is strong but he’s large and can be quite clumsy at times. But we’ll see, after all they will be fighting in jaegars, not by themselves.” 

The pair bowed before going into position. Taeyong felt a little excited. In his past years in the program he was the one on the mat duelling others. Sitting at the bench where his previous rangers sat at was new and exciting. 

“Remember kids, the cadet to get 3 strikes first wins,” Ten called out. 

The duel started.

Taeyong watched intently, absorbing every move Yoojung or Yukhei made. Something in his mind was dissecting the moves, breaking down what other move could have been done to save time and strength. The two put up a good fight like he expected, and it ended with Yukhei winning by 1 point. 

“Good job guys! Yoojung you missed your shot just now when Yukhei was stumbling back. Remember, seize every chance you have!” Ten said before clapping. “Anything to add on Taeyong?”

“Yeah, Yoojung you could have won but you missed your chance. It’s alright, just remember that. You two put up a good fight, each using your own strengths. Yukhei, be more firm and grounded, you looked like you were ready to hit down a plane by flailing those long arms half of the time.”

Yukhei put on an apologetic smile before retreating to the background. 

The next few fights were entertaining. Each cadet was predictable, the way they fighted were similar to their personalities. Zhangjing was careful with his moves, Chenle sometimes acted rashly, Mark seemed to be calculating his moves in his brain and what was the next best move to make. He made the elastic mistakes out of everyone. Jeno was clumsy, often missing his chances. Vera was a good fighter, well grounded and thought things through. Junkai however acted way too rashly, it was something Taeyong has been telling him since his first day as a ranger. He supposes Junkai came to become s ranger to avenge his family, or some way, now the breach was closed Taeyong wasn’t sure if there were going to be any other Kaijus coming up to surprise them. 

The results ended with Zhangjing winning against Chenle with a 3-1, Mark won against Jeno with a close call, Vera won against Junkai with a 3-2.

“Cadet Jaehyun? Get in,” Ten called out.

Taeyong too, got his katana and walked towards the mat. It’s been years since he fought, though he has been polishing his moves in the past week. Hopefully his muscle memory doesn’t fail him and that he’s retained at least half of the things he learnt while training. 

Jaehyun too, walked into the mat with his katana in his right hand. He approached Taeyong, standing a few feet away from the ranger. 

Taeyong had already changed into his duelling uniform that matched all the other cadets. A black tank top and long pants. He’s got to admit, he was a little embarrassed to be in that uniform when Jaehyun had his muscles looking like they were ready to break Taeyong’s small ones.

“Bow!” Ten called out from the bench. Jaehyun stared into Taeyong’s eyes. He looked like he had his goal clear and firm in his mind, Jaehyun wouldn’t be surprised if the goal was to defeat Jaehyun. 

The two bowed and got into position. 

“Start!”

The moment Ten yelled that the look in Taeyong’s eyes changed immediately into something dangerous that sent goosebumps down Jaehyun’s arms. Ok he’s got this, just don’t panic and fight like you usually do. Right Jaehyun?

Taeyong gripped his katana tighter and took firm steps towards the cadet. Jaehyun had his katana held at his hip height and the katana faced outwards. Taeyong preferred having his next to his waist. The two walked towards each other in slow but steady steps, circling around the mat like they were waiting for someone to strike first. It was a Taeyong who striked, taking a large step towards Jaehyun and aiming the katana at his torso. Before the cadet could react the katana was already centimetres away from his torso and Ten shouted out a 1-0.

“Focus cadet,” Taeyong said before straightening his back and repositioning his katana. 

“Yeah, right, sorry,” Jaehyun shook his head several times and mentally yelled at himself to focus. 

The next strike was initiated by Jaehyun. The cadet lunged at Taeyong, the katana aiming for the ranger’s shoulder But was blocked. Jaehyun immediately switched his angle and striked Taeyong’s waist. 

“One to One! Not bad Cadet Jung,” Ten praised and the other cadets clapped too. 

Taeyong gave him an approving nod, before raising his katana and lunged, aiming for Jaehyun’s neck. Before Jaehyun could react the katana was touching the skin just centimetres below his jaw line. 

“Two to one!” 

“That was a little unfair wasn’t it?” Jaehyun jokes as Taeyong stood back up. “I was still not ready,” Jaehyun gripped his katana tighter and angled it towards Taeyong’s abdomen before thrusting it forwards. The katana hit Taeyong and the ranger grunted as he fell backwards a few steps.

“Two to two!”

Taeyong chuckled and repositioned himself. His katana was back at his waist. “You’re good.” 

“Thanks ranger,” Jaehyun said with a grin. Sweat was trickling down his neck. He just hoped it didn’t drip to the floor and cause him to slip on it. The last time something like that happened to Jeno and the whole compound mocked him for a week. 

“Last round, start!” 

Taeyong lunged at Jaehyun first with the katana aiming for the cadet’s arm. Jaehyun dodged it by taking a step to the left. Now Taeyong was a step away from him. 

“Good, your reflexes are quick,” Taeyong praised and striked again, this time for Jaehyun’s head. The younger blocked the strike and went for Taeyong’s neck, which the ranger avoided. Jaehyun scanned Taeyong’s position for any openings. His legs were in a lunge position, right leg before his left. 

Jaehyun hooked his right foot against Taeyong’s left calf and pulled it towards him, causing the ranger’s leg to be bent and Taeyong lost balance. He fell on his back with a thud. Jaehyun saw his chance, he was going to take a step forward and point the katana at Taeyong’s neck when he slipped on what was in fact, his sweat. Jaehyun barely managed to reposition his katana into a 180 degree before collapsing on Taeyong. The katana aimed at Taeyong’s neck. 

Taeyong grunted when the cadet fell on him. God was he heavy, well of course all that muscle had to weigh something. He realised that Jaehyun’s katana was inches inches away from his neck and the younger was barely supporting himself with his elbows that were planted on the ground. 

“Whoo! Jaehyun won!” Jaehyun heard Chenle shout. The cadets erupted in claps and shouts of congratulations. 

“Two to three! Cadet Jung won!” Ten called out. “Now, can you guys untangle yourselves? You look like you’re ready to shoot a drama in here.” 

Taeyong laughed as his head fell back and hit the mat with a soft thud. He was panting and sweating. Duelling the strongest cadet after five years of not fighting was not the greatest choice, but he faired pretty well. Considering he didn’t get himself hurt. 

Jaehyun swung his katana over Taeyong’s body and threw it on the mat. His arms pushed himself back up onto the ground. “That was a great fight,” he said at the ranger who was still on the ground. He tried to deny the flustered part of him when he was in such close proximity with Taeyong. 

“You were great, I had high expectations for you and you seemed to exceed them. Nice move you pulled on me just now,” Taeyong said with a laugh as he pushed himself up to sit on the mat. “Did you come up with that by yourself?”

“Not really. Chenle played a prank similar to the move I pulled on you earlier. Guess it just hit me in the head and said I should make that move,” Jaehyun reached out an arm for Taeyong, which the older accepted. Jaehyun helped pull Taeyong back on his feet. 

Taeyong muttered a thanks and wiped his hands on his pants. He really did sweat a lot while duelling. 

“Ok kids, go have a break then you can leave. Good job everyone!” Ten announced. 

The cadets shouted back a yes sir before getting up to get their things. Jaehyun too went to get his bottle and hand towel to wipe off the sweat on his forehead. 

“Dude, how was it?” Jeno asked when Jaehyun approached them. 

“It was.. exciting I guess? I mean he’s the first ranger I’ve duelled with.” Jaehyun said with a shrug. He wiped the towel over his neck and draped it over his shoulder. 

“Thats not what he meant. You were literally inches away from the ranger’s face like you two could’ve kissed!” Yoojung said and squealed. “Chenle said you have a small crush on the ranger.” 

Jaehyun’s eyes widened with a shock as he scanned the room to look for a Chenle. He found the Chinese boy standing with Junkai as he gave him a smug look. “I don’t have a crush on Taeyong hyung!”

“You’re even dropping all honorifics and calling him hyung now. Wow.” Yoojung dead panned him in the eyes. 

Jaehyun was pretty sure he was going to splutter out something he would regret but thank god Zhangjing stepped in and cut them off. 

“Stop bullying Jaehyun,” The Chinese said and Jaehyun couldn’t have been more grateful. “Its not like it’s his fault for ending up in a position looking like he was ready to have sex with ranger Taeyong in front of everyone.”

Yoojung and Jeno exploded in laughs and cackles as Jaehyun gaped at Zhangjing. 

“I trusted you hyung. I trusted you and you betrayed it!” Jaehyun smacked Zhangjing on the arm. 

“Be careful, you never know Yan Jun knows which bed you sleep in at night,” Zhangjing said with an evil smile. His hands did some evil thing the villains the cartoons Jaehyun used to watch do. 

“Stop being so childish you guys,” Vera came over and slung an arm around Yoojung. 

“Thanks Vera. At least one of you has the decency to not mock me,” Jaehyun made a face at Yoojung, Jeno and Zhangjing. 

“Well to be fair You and the ranger looked like you two wear undressing each other with your eyes. So, I guess they aren’t wrong,” Vera shrugged with a playful smile. 

“I swear to god you guys-“ Jaehyun took his towel off his shoulder and was ready to fling the sweaty thing at them when they ran a way cackling. 

Why are his friends like this. 

Taeyong and Ten watched the group of cadets bickering from the bench. The four of them seemed to be making fun of Jaehyun about something. The rangers only managed to catch Taeyong’s name in between their sentences. 

“Reminds you of the old days doesn’t it?” Ten said with a chuckle, His arms crossed before his chest. 

“I guess it does,” Taeyong had a small smile edging his lips. It really did remind him of his cadet days. “C’mon let’s go. I’m dying for a shower. I sweat so much and I feel grossed out.”


	4. Chapter 4

Taeyong woke up with a jolt. 

It took him moments to comprehend what was happening. He was in his room, in the compound, sweating cold sweat, and his heart was racing. It was a horrible nightmare. He saw what happened that day, something he never wanted to experience ever again.

It was Johnny. Johnny kissed him before they enetered the jaegar. Whispered an I love you to Taeyong like the cheese ball he is. Taeyong felt his heartache as he reminisced those moments. They were moments he knew would never happen again and it hurt him. Dreams like this makes him miss Johnny more than ever. It was like the dreams manage to lie to Taeyong that he was back to five years ago. The perfect life he had. It made Taeyong feel hopeful.

Taeyong laid on the bed in the same position as he tried to go back to sleep, but the adrenaline from the nightmare was pumping and he was awake now. He rolled onto his back and stared up to the empty ceiling. Maybe he should buy a galaxy wallpaper and stick it on it the ceiling. Then he can stare at the ‘night sky’ on nights like this. Or was it already the next day?

He reached to the table by his bed and grabbed his phone. The screen lighted, making him furrow his eyebrows and squint at the bright screen that showed 5.45 in the morning. Training starts at 8 and he can’t go to sleep. With a sigh he placed his phone and the bed and pushed himself out of bed. Taeyong needed a cold shower. 

15 minutes later Taeyong came out and changed into comfortable work out clothes. He could probably use the time to work on his fighting. 

The corridors leading to the duelling room was quiet and dark. A small (large) part of him regrets coming out so early in the morning because many times has his heart jumped because of some small noise due to the ventilation. Another things about Taeyong is that he is a big scaredy cat. He passed by the cadets’ room where he stopped for a moment to stare at their door. The kids were probably asleep- never mind he just heard a scream and a laugh. Sounded like Chenle pranked Mark. Taeyong chuckled to himself as he continued his walk to the duelling room. Him and the cadets he trained with were exactly like this batch, only younger. Looking at them reminds him of his training days. Chenle would probably get along with Ten really well, the Thai used to play pranks on every one in their team pretty much everyday. 

One thing Taeyong didn’t really like about the compound, before and now was the lack of windows. It really wouldn't Hurt to have a few windows so he could look outside to the scenery. But then the scenery would most likely be planes, jets, metal parts being shipped in and people. 

He passed by a room which- was not empty. Taeyong stopped on his tracks and peeped in through the small crevice between the door and the wall. This was one of the stimulation rooms, the one their team used. There was someone inside. A cadet who seemed very frustrated. Taeyong’s ranger instincts perked and he lightly pushed open the door. It was his cadet and thus it was his responsibility to help his cadet out if they were having trouble. That’s what a ranger does right? 

The cadet, judging from the build was one of the male cadets, had a helmet on as he stood on a platform. There was a brain in a cylindrical container filled with liquid connected to the helmet by a black wire. He must be trying to drift with the brain. It wa something the cadets would do for practice. The brain, who’s name is Jinwoo (apparently according to Ten it belonged to this old man called Hwang Jinwoo)

The cadet groaned before yanking the helmet off. Jaehyun? 

Jaehyun’s hair was drenched in sweat, well the helmet was quite suffocating and warm, Taeyong spoke from experience. Jaehyun held the helmet with his left hand as his right proceeded to ruffle his hair. His chest heaved as he let out a sigh and stared at the floor.

“Hey Jaehyun, why are you up so early?” Taeyong asked in a soft voice to not startle the cadet. 

Jaehyun looked up, surprised to find Taeyong in casual clothes and was now standing not too far from him. “Could ask you the same question Hyung.” He said with a hint of cheekiness in his tone. “I was trying to drift with Jinwoo. What you said during our first training together, about me having to relax to drift, I was trying to practice that. But it’s just really hard for me to drift.”

“I had a nightmare and couldn’t get back to sleep. Thought it wouldn’t hurt to get up a little earlier and get things done,” Taeyong walked to the brain and tapped the container. “They’re still using Jinwoo? After all these years? Can’t they find another brain or something like that.” 

Jaehyun chuckled and placed the helmet on a hook before wiping his palms on his pants. “Jinwoo is one of the easiest brains to drift with for everyone, it’s hard to replace a brain like that. Even with such an easy]ily compatible brain to drift I still can’t.” 

Taeyong frowned, “What exactly is the problem you have? I’ve been trying to figure it out but it sounds complicated.” 

“In short I’m undriftable, if that’s even a word. I mean I can drift, by that I mean I’ve only been able to drift with Chenle but even then our compatibility rate was really low. Like a 20. I just don’t get it ya know, other people have high drift compatible rates and here I am,” Jaehyun sighed and walked off towards a bench. “Chenle is the most drift compatible with Yuk Hei, so if he goes, I don’t have another pilot I’m drift compatible with when I graduate.” 

Taeyong followed Jaehyun to the bench and sat down next to him. “I’ve heard of cases like yours before. A cadet back when I was training, Hansol, quiet guy, mostly kept to himself. He could never drift with anyone except this one girl. Even then their drift compatible rate was low. Then one day when we graduated we were joined by this boy from the American team, Joonyoung. They tested out Hansol with Junyoung since the girl left for Japan and their compatibility rate was a 97%. The highest anyone has ever seen. So don’t get discouraged, maybe the others are drift compatible with many people but you can find the person who’s the most drift compatible with you. If what I said even made sense.” 

Jaehyun chuckled. “Thanks hyung,” his head dropped between his shoulders as he stared as his feet. It felt more reassuring that this wasn’t only happening to him. Maybe one day he’ll find his drift compatible partner. Hopefully he does. “How high was the rate between you on your partner?”

Taeyong hummed, trying to remember. “If memory serves me right... a 79%? I think so...” 

“Hyung, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you retire from being a pilot?” 

Taeyong’s Lips parted to emit an acknowledged noise. “An accident happened. I could never return into a jaegar anymore after that.”

“Sorry.”

“Whats there to be sorry about? I’m back here after 5 years with my friends, and I’ve met a bunch of really cool and smart kids that I can’t wait I see graduate and become great pilots,” Taeyong said with a smile, though somewhere in his heart he felt it aching. Because he knew that in a month when Yuta fully healed, he would have to leave. What does he do then? 

“Will you come and see us graduate?” Jaehyun asked, his eyes we’re as if they were full of hope and screaming for Taeyong to say yes. 

The ranger chuckled. “If you want me to.” 

“Of course I do! We do! Everyone likes you! And we’ve been improving so much under your guidance, of course we want you to be there when we graduate!” Jaehyun exclaimed. 

Taeyong found himself smiling with fondness. He was glad to hear that. “Fine fine, I’ll come. You lot better send me an invite.” 

“We will,” Jaehyun’s lips were stretched from corner to corner. Somewhere deep down in him he was screaming happily. He had imagined several times what it would be like during his graduation day. He would be receiving his pilot uniforms, one he had always been dreaming of. His team would be standing on the stage with the other 2 teams. Ranger Ten and Yuta standing in front of them in their official uniforms. They would be introduced to the jaegars they will be piloting. And hopefully, Jaehyun would see Taeyong in the crowd as he looks up at them, mouthing ‘I’m proud of you’ to them. Then maybe Jaehyun would rush down and hug Taeyong and kiss him- ok they aren’t dating, Taeyong probably just treats Jaehyun as a younger brother, but he would really like to hug Taeyong. 

Maybe one day he will. 

Maybe one day Jung Jaehyun will realise his small crush on the ranger, but who knows. Jaehyun is oblivious and Chenle would agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I finally found time and inspiration to write this chapter. But it was still really shitty and short ugh. Hopefully the upcoming chapter will be better.


	5. The memory of Johnny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny was the most beautiful thing that happened in Taeyong’s life, then he was gone too (Chapter of Taeyong and Johnny’s back story and is the most heart wrenching thing I might have written)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for one train wreck of a chapter y’all

Taeyong’s most early memory with Johnny was during admittance day. It was a Tuesday he remembers, the sun was really unforgiving and scorched down onto the ground. Taeyong felt beads of sweat rolling down his neck and it felt disgusting, especially to a germaphobe like Taeyong. It was 10 in the morning, they were in China’s base, Moyulan. 

Admittance day was the day those that have passed the test enter the jaegar program officially. For Taeyong, it was the most nerve wrecking experience waiting for his results. He remembers screaming in unbelievement while other test takers looked at him enviously. He passed! 

A week later, a car picked him up from his shabby house tucked away in the corners of Seoul and drove him to the nearest private airport, where, for the first time he sat on a plane and rode to Moyulan. The experience of riding a plane was amazing. Taeyong had always dreamt about travelling by air, but his family never could afford it. Though in the future he might earn enough money as a pilot and afford a plane trip for his entire family. 

He was the sixth person to arrive in Moyulan. Before him were 4 boys and one girl, whom Taeyong later on learnt that she was the only girl in their team. The person in charge rushed Taeyong to stand in line with the other 5 people as they waited for the seventh and also last cadet to arrive. It was around 5 minutes later when jet landed on the platform and a tall boy jumped off from the jet before the stairs were even set up for him, then running towards the 6 of them at full speed. 

“Great... we got the energetic one...” Taeyong heard the male ranger mutter under his breath. 

Taeyong and the other 5 cadets straightened their backs and stood right up the moment the seventh cadet appeared and joined them. Taeyong’s heart was beating against his chest. It was finally happening! He was finally going to join the angers program and become a pilot!

“Alright cadets! ATTENTION!” The male ranger roared out in English. Taeyong hopefully paid enough attention in English class to know what they’re talking about. Who was he kidding he spent the last one year preparing for the test and also learning English. They did mention that in the jaegar compounds all conversation will be in English due to the large amounts of foreigners. 

All of them flinched immediately and stood up straight. 

“My name is Deng Lun, you can refer to me as Ranger Deng. I am expecting every single one of you to be obeying my orders for the next one and a half years, because before you graduate, you’re my problem,” He said with his tone firm and icy as he glared at everyone. “Anyone who doesn’t wish to stay may leave. If anyone is caught disobeying the rules I will catch you and tickle you till you cry oh my god Si Chun look at their expressions they look like they’re going to pass out,” Deng Lun’s facade broke and he started laughing. Taeyong looked towards his right at the other cadets, they looked equally as confused as he was. 

“Look at them, they look like little lambs,” The ranger, Deng Lun was holding his abdomen while his hand wiped away the tears that were forming from laughing. “So adorable...” 

The female ranger, Si Chun, looked completely done with the laughing male. And instead pinched his ear lobe and told him some thing in Chinese. 

“Sorry for his.... childish behaviour,” Si Chun turned to glare at Deng Lun Who was still trying to stifle laughs. “I am Ma Si Chun, he’s Deng Lun Who is unfortunately my drift partner. We will be your rangers through out this one and a half years of the jaegar program. We are sincerely hoping to see all of you graduate and become great pilots in the future,” at the end, Si Chun flashed a warm smile. 

Taeyong decided that he liked her. 

“Yep that’s right. I’m actually not a scary ranger, I’m a fun one,” Deng Lun said an grinned, hinting some cheekiness. 

“More like a scaredy cat,” Si Chun muttered under her breath, earning a jab from Deng Lun. 

“Well you can call me Ranger Lun, or Deng Lun is fine, and her ranger Ma.”

The boy cadet next to Taeyong snickered. 

“Oh you’re Chinese?” Deng Lun asked him and the boy nodded. “Whats your name?”

“Wu Lei sir!” The boy shouted out. 

He was tall, much taller than Taeyong. They looked like they were about the same age, though Wu Lei looked much more muscular. 

Deng Lun looked like he was going to say something but was cut off by Si Chun rushing them off to their room. 

The room was much much larger than what Taeyong was used to. Deng Lun said they could choose whichever bunk they want. Taeyong looked up at the top bunks that looked dangerous, then at the bottom bunks. He decides spraining a neck when falling off your bed wasn’t necessary and chose the bottom bunk. He placed his small bag of belongings on the bed and sat on it like other cadets. 

“Hey man, hope you don’t mind me taking the top bunk do you?” It was the tall guy that jumped off the jet. He was staring down at Taeyong who gulped down saliva and nodded. This guy scared him, after all he was so much larger than Taeyong. “Thanks dude.” 

He’s definitely an American judging by his accent. 

“So, there are a couple of rules that you have to obey during your time in the jaegar program,” Sichun started while holding an i-Pad. Her hair was now tied back into a pony tail as she scanned the screen.

“Though you can break them the moment you graduate,” Deng Lun said with a snicker. Sichun glared at him but went back to the rules. 

“First of all, no smoking within the enclosed compounds if you are of age. If you want to kill yourself with carbon monoxide please do not drag everyone else into it.” Sichun read off from the i-Pad and added a little commentary. “No drinking if you’re underage. Definitely no drugs. Strictly no dating relationships between rangers and cadets. Last year a ranger was caught in a relationship with the cadet and blacklash was everywhere. We do not need that. Let’s see.... all cadets are required to be in their rooms by 10, lights out by 10.30pm. No sex please, the walls are thin.”

A couple of the cadets giggled to themselves. Taeyong found himself wondering which poor couple had made the council deem it necessary for a rule like that. 

“No fighting, no hurting others, no bullying- ah! Under no circumstance are you allowed to leave the compound without asking for a permit slip from your ranger. Anyone who disobeys this rule, and the one where no cadets are allowed in jaegars without supervision and permission, will be taken out of the jaegar program, do you understand me?” Sichun said and for the first time sounded fierce. 

All the cadets nodded. 

“Great. Every 2 weeks there will be a day off where you can choose to come with the rangers to a one day trip in China or you can stay in the compound. And every 6 months you will be given a one week holiday to go back to your families,” Sichun turned off the i-pad and smiled. “Breakfast lunch and dinner are served at 7, 1, and 7 in our cafeteria. Hope you guys like it here and good luck.” Sichun said. 

“Briefing about training will be done later in the evening by yours truly, me,” Deng Lun said. “Enjoy your stay and training. Bye kiddos.” He waved to the cadets while Si Chun decided to bow and they both left. 

It room was quiet when the two rangers left, suffocating too. Taeyong prayed someone would start talking, or doing something so that he could start getting ready. His bed looked pretty alright. It was nothing fancy but looked and felt comfy. Taeyong could feel specks of dust under his hand, that would need some cleaning up. The cadets spent the first few seconds or so wondering who would speak first, until a relatively small boy spoke up. 

“Hey guys! I’m Ten, yes it’s the number Ten. My real name is too long for anyone to remember so just call me Ten,” Ten had jet black hair that reached his eyebrows. He had on a cheeky smile that showed his white pearly teeth. Ten looked nice, and he was about Taeyong’s size. Maybe if Ten approached Taeyong first he might be friends with Ten? 

“I’m Wu Lei, nice to meet you all,” it was the other male cadet that Deng Lun called on just now. He spoke with a heavy Chinese accent and Taeyong could guess that like him, Wu Lei must’ve learnt English for the sake of being a pilot. 

“I’m Aleksandra, you can call me Alex. I’m Russian.” Aleksandra was tall and large. She stood a head taller than Taeyong and shoulders approximately 1.5 times of his. Her blonde bob was pulled back into a short ponytail. Taeyong wondered if all Russian girls were as large and scary as her. “I hope we can make a good team together,” Alex said with a genuine smile, and the scary facade was broken. Her voice was deep but had a tone of calmness that resembled his sister’s. 

“Nakamoto Yuta, I’m Japanese and my English... not very good,” said a strawberry blond boy next to Taeyong’s bed. His Rs and Ls were slurred and had a thick Japanese accent to his tone. “I hope... you help me train and English... we can be good friends!” Yuta said with a bright smile despite a hint of awkwardness when he spoke. Taeyong made an effort to smile at Yuta because he had a feeling that the two of them would end up cramming English together for communication purposes. 

“I’m Seo Youngho, But please do call me Johnny. I’m American Korean and I look forward to training with you all.” Taeyong watched as Johnny- the last cadet that arrived and his bunk mate spoke. There was a way that when Johnny’s lip corners curled up it formed the most beautiful smile Taeyong has ever seen. Taeyong was so absorbed in Johnny’s lip corners he didn’t notice it was his turn to speak, not that he noticed they were going in turns until Johnny made eye contact with him and mouthed something to him. 

“Ah... my name is Taeyong Lee, my English also not so good. Please Um... help me? If I say something wrong and uh... thanks?” Taeyong ended his short speech with a little head tilt to the right. He was glad he managed to make it through without stumbling and stuttering over his words but he hoped none of them would make fun of him. 

“That was pretty impressive,” he heard someone say to him in Korean and his ears perked up. His head snapped upwards to find Johnny looking at him with a smile. “Your pronounciation is pretty good,” Johnny said again in Korean. 

“You speak Korean? I thought you were American?” Taeyong asked back in Korean too. He was generally surprised and glad that someone here spoke Korean. At least he would have someone to help translate his thoughts if he ever were stuck. If Johnny would help him to. 

“My parents taught me Korean. I can help you with your English if you want,” Johnny offered, and a Taeyong found himself nodding hesitantly. 

“Well I have absolutely no idea what they’re saying, but I guess that makes me the only English in this room. Hi, I am Christopher Blaine, you can call me Chris or Christopher whatever suits you. And I suggest we do more introductions to get to know each other well is that alright with everyone? We can play this game my Nan used to play with me when I was younger-“

Taeyong took another glance at Johnny, before joining the others in the game Chris suggested.

-

Weeks went by and despite Taeyong’s shyness he managed to become friends with everyone, well almost everyone. Johnny and Chris were more distant as they were much larger than him and he felt intimidated. He learnt that him, Ten, Yuta and Wu Lei were the same age. Johnny and Alex was a year older and Chris was 2 years older. Chris was, and somehow became their unspoken leader. 

Taeyong had become good friends with the boys his age. Ten spoke some Chinese that Wu Lei could understand, and Taeyong spoke basic Japanese from his years of being an otaku, enough for Yuta to understand him. The four of them, despite having the language barrier managed to make it work. Ten would coach them on their English as he was the only one fluent in the language. Taeyong would sometimes ask Johnny for help if he couldn’t understand what Ten was saying, but even then the contact between the two was kept minimal. 

It was one day when the gods and angels decided they had enough of the bare minimum contact between Taeyong and Johnny that they decided it was time to do something. Nah jk.

Taeyong was always known to be an overachiever. Back in South Korea and now in Moyulan. He always had the mindset of striving to be the best, and that if you weren’t the best you were nothing. This this lead to many nights of lack of sleep and over work and finally, Taeyong fainted in class. 

It was during sparring and Taeyong’s opponent was Chris. Taeyong dreaded sparring most of the time since he was one of the smaller sized cadets in their team. He never did much sports and exercise back in South Korea and he realised just how weak he was during his first sparring contest against Wu Lei. Ever since then he’s set his mind on becoming the best fighter and worked hard for it. Too hard. 

The older was increasingly worried at Taeyong’s Condition when he stumbled and almost fell a few times. The eye bags under his eyes were noticeable and Taeyong felt like his mind was going hazy. 

“Taeyong? Are you sure you want to continue? You look... awful,” Chris asked after getting a mark for striking Taeyong. “You can go rest.” 

Taeyong shook his head, half of him wanted to continue, he didn’t work hard, train and work out for those sleepless nights to give up now. But the other part of him was screaming of tiredness and dizziness, that eventually before he could open his mouth his mind blacked out and he collapsed on the mat. 

 

Everything happen in a blur, but when Taeyong woke up he was in the infirmary, in new clothes and tucked into a comfy bed. And there was a very familiar silhouette behind the drawn curtains. Taeyong groaned quietly as he flipped to his side. It was been two nights since he last laid on his bed. The soft embraces of the blanket and mattress didn’t seem too bad. And for once he would rather sleep.

“Are you sure he’ll be alright? He just collapsed in class. Sure he doesn’t need an MRI scan?” Taeyong heard low whispers and concerned voices behind the drawn curtains. This guys sounded familiar, he sounded like Johnny? And why was he speaking in Korean?

“Hyung, he’ll be alright, he just fainted he didn’t have a concussion. No need to fret,” another rushed voice said in Korean but Taeyong couldn’t recognise his voice. 

The curtain was drawn back and the sudden piercing light from outside caused a Taeyong to immediately shut his eyes and groan at the pain. When he slowly opened them he saw Johnny looming over him, along with another stranger dude.

“Oops sorry, ddin’t Know you were awake,” Johnny muttered while the stranger drew back the curtains. “How are you? Feeling better?” Johnny asked as he brushed away Taeyong’s fringe and placed a hand on Taeyong’s forehead. 

Johnny’s hand was warm and it felt nice. Taeyong muttered out a yes. 

“Told you he’d be fine,” the stranger said as he stood next to Johnny, also towering over Taeyong. The stranger looked like he was Taeyong’s age and was wearing round rimmed glasses with a white lab coat that didn’t quite fit his small build. “How are you Taeyong?”

Taeyong took some time to find his voice before replying in Korean, “Fine I guess... my head hurts and everything is hazy. What happened to me?”

“You were over worked. Apparently according to Johnny said you have not been getting full nights of sleep since last week. Your body was too stressed and you passed out.” The boy said while checking the clipboard in his hands. “Nothing too serious, though I won’t be able to let you go back to training for the rest of the day or maybe tomorrow even judging from your condition. Johnny insisted to stay till you woke up but I think he just wanted to skip class.”

Johnny slapped the boy on the arm lightly, “No I did not. I am a hard worker, I do not skip classes.”

“Oh, there was another reason then?” The boy asked with raised eyebrows and his eyes hinted some teasing at Johnny. 

“Stop it Dongyoung,” Johnny’s face flushed a light tone of red and pinched the boy. “Oh right, Taeyong this is Dongyoung, my younger brother. He is a doc...tor?”

“Junior trainee,” Dongyoung reminded. 

“Right junior trainee for the medical team here. He’s your age, and yes he is incredibly smart and followed me here only for the sake of keeping an eye on me.” 

Taeyong looked up at Dongyoung. Well he did look like the kind to be smart, his eyes shined with zest and ebullience. But he must be on a genius level to be a junior assistant doctor at this age. 

“He’s Just exaggerating. I only got in because there was a shortage and they needed more people helping out because the kaiju attacks up in Japan and Russia have been occupying way too many doctors and nurses.” Dongyoung laughed and it resembled the tinkling of glass. “I’ll be taking care of you for today, and Johnny here, can say goodbye to his prince and go back to training.” Dongyoung smiled at him, then pushed the blushing Johnny out of the cubicle. Taeyong could still hear them bickering even at the door. 

Taeyong sighed and shut his eyes. His head was pounding like crazy and he just really needed some rest. If anything he most likely wouldn’t be pulling a trick like this any time soon. 

-

For some reason that Johnny could never explain, was the sudden attraction to the raven haired boy that stood next to him during admittance day. Johnny has always been the kind of person to make fun of love. He never could understand how someone could fall in love. For him, it was a joke. But yet here he was, staring straight at Taeyong’s sleeping face. After the boy fainted during class he volunteered to take Taeyong to the infirmary. Upon arriving Dongyoung sort of freaked out and started questioning Johnny things about Taeyong. 

“Dude, I know you’re head over heels for him, but staring while he’s asleep is just plain creepy.” Dongyoung commented with his arms crossed before his chest. 

Johnny clicked his tongue in annoyance and shoved Dongyoung. “Don’t assume things. I am not in love with Taeyong.”

“yeah right. You should’ve seen your face when you carried him in. Looked like mom when you fractured your arm. And don’t even mention the times you nearly yapped my ear off about Taeyong.” Dongyoung rolled his eyes and shoved Johnny back. “Stop lying to yourself.”

“Why? Are you jealous?” Johnny asked smugly, earning a slap on the arm from Dongyoung. 

Dongyoung was right. Johnny felt an unexplainable sense of attraction to Taeyong since the day they met. The moment he hopped onto the ground and met eyes with Taeyong, something in him told him that Taeyong was the one. He was glad the younger let him take the bunk above him. Since then he has tried to help Taeyong out in any way he could. With his English, training and all. Though Taeyong seemed quite intimidated by Johnny, maybe it was the size difference, but Taeyong always hung out with Ten, Yuta and Wu Lei. Johnny sometimes wished he was one of them because then he would get to see Taeyong’s smile up close, make jokes that triggers the boy’s beautiful laughter. But Johnny was content just watching from a far. He never knew how it would be if him and Taeyong were close. He might make Taeyong feel awkward or uncomfortable. For now, at least, he liked helping and protecting the boy in any way he could. 

That was until Taeyong passed out in class. Johnny started to panic, what happened to Taeyong? Will he be alright? 

He watched with worry as Dongyoung did some check ups with Taeyong. Though Dongyoung kept assuring that nothing too bad happened to a Taeyong, he never let down the worry until Taeyong woke up. The younger looked so adorable, so innocent when he snuggled into the thin sheets. It made Johnny want to cradle him and make him feel better.

After that incident, Taeyong had went up to Johnny to thank him, which sparked up a conversation. Those conversations became longer and more frequent, and Taeyong found himself almost always by Johnny’s side. Ten used to joke that Taeyong had abandoned them for love but Taeyong brushed them off as joking. Little did he know that during those late night conversations with Johnny his heart started to yearn for more, for more attention and for Johnny to touch him more, hug him, pet his hair. He looked up to the older as a role model, though Johnny said there was nothing role modely about him. 

Taeyong admired Johnny’s friendliness, something he would never have for he was far too shy. The only reason he was friends with Yuta and Wu Lei was because of Ten. The smaller of the two often found his heart fluttering whenever he saw Johnny. When Johnny was brushing his teeth and saying a muffled hello to Taeyong, or the goofy Johnny who decided it was a good thing to replace Ranger Deng Lun’s Orea cookie cream with toothpaste, or the serious Johnny who took training just as seriously as Taeyong. 

Taeyong was falling in love too.

Their first kiss was also when Taeyong lost his first kiss. It was midnight in the quarters and Taeyong couldn’t sleep. Instead, he climbed up to Johnny’s bunk where the American scooted over to make space for Taeyong. Taeyong laid in the embrace of Johnny as they talked in low whispers about what they miss about their countries. Johnny talked about how much he missed his parents. It was hard parting with them but he accustomed to the trainee life. 

Taeyong stared up at Johnny while he talked, admiring the sharp jaw line of the other. When Johnny has finished talking, Taeyong hummed as he continued to admire Johnny’s facial features. 

“Did you believe it, before I came, I never believed in love. To me it was a joke and a haux.” Johnny joked and chuckled softly. Taeyong smiled as he felt Johnny’s body shake when he laughed. 

“Then what happened?” Taeyong asked, resting his head between the juncture of Johnny’s shoulder and neck. Johnny smelt like Johnny, smelt nice and warm, like home.

“Then I met you,”

Taeyong looked up to find Johnny staring back into his eyes. His heart fluttered and swelled. 

“Then I met you, and fell in love at first sight. And I have been falling ever since,” Johnny’s lip corners curled up into a smile and Taeyong felt tears dampening his eyelashes. “pretty sure I’m about to hit the ground really hard soon.” Taeyong chuckled and poked Johnny on the chest.

“Can I kiss you?” 

Johnny looked surprised and was about to say something, but the determinance and assurance in Taeyong’s eyes shut him up. He swallowed his saliva but nodded slightly, before pulling Taeyong closer and angling his head down to reach Taeyong. His eyes fluttered shut as he waited for Taeyong. 

Taeyong’s eyes fluttered shut too and he reached up to kiss Johnny. Johnny’s lips were soft and warm. 

The two of them smiled into the kiss. 

-

Despite the two already confessing their feelings for each other, they weren’t official. They both wanted to focus on training but their friendship continued. 

Then Graduation day came by and when it was Johnny’s turn to give his speech, he awarded Taeyong with the best gift ever. 

“When I first came into the program a year and a half ago, I was a brash young teenager who didn’t believe in a lot of things. Like uh, aliens and monsters,” the crowd chuckled at his joke. Taeyong was watching Johnny from his seat. His eyes shine with pride and he just kept smiling that he thought his face might go out of shape. “And love. Then I came, I met the best and probably dorkiest rangers ever,” Deng Lun shouted and waved from below the stage while Si Chun laughed and pumped her first into the air several times. “A bunch of cadets that became my best friends,” Johnny directed his gaze at the team of cadets who whooped and cheered. “And I met the love of my life, Lee Taeyong.” 

There were whoops, cheers and whistles from around Taeyong. The mentioned flushed beet root red. Ten slung an arm around Taeyong and grinned. 

“I am apologetic that I couldn’t do this during our trainee days, and so I’m doing it now. Lee Taeyong from team 1, will you be my boyfriend? I promise I will love you, cherish you, and protect you from everything that is about to come.” Johnny asked, his eyes meeting Taeyong’s. 

Around him, his friends were screaming with joy and Ten was absolutely ecstatic. 

“Taeyong will you?”

Taeyong looked at Johnny, then at his friends, then at Deng Lun and Si Chun show ere giving him thumbs ups and pointing at Johnny. He looked back at Johnny and smiled. 

“Yes. Johnny Seo I love you too!” Taeyong shouted from under the stage and the crowd roared again. 

A that moment though Taeyong felt like he was the happiest person alive, Johnny’s face was full of disbelief and happiness. Johnny just threw his certificate on the ground and jumped off the stage to ran to Taeyong at full speed to suffocate him in the tightest hug ever. 

Taeyong felt tears prickling his eyes as he wrapped his arms tightly around Johnny’s torso. 

“I love you so so much Taeyong, thank you,” Johnny said out of breath. 

“I love you so much I think it’s unhealthy for me,” Taeyong joked and he felt Johnny laughing. 

When the two parted from their hug, Johnny looked down into Taeyong’s eyes that shone with tears and joy. 

“Can I kiss you?” Johnny asked. 

Taeyong nodded and tip toed to press his lips on Johnny’s. 

The crowd around them erupted in another round of cheers and whistles.

But nothing lasted forever.

For the next 3 years Taeyong and Johnny were the best pair of pilots in Moyulan. Taeyong was the best fighter along with Johnny’s strategic thinking, there were more often than not the first team to be sent to eliminate Kaijus. The couple were madly in love. They spent almost all of their time together, in the jaegar, outside of the jaegar, they went on dates during their off days. Sometimes (well once) Johnny had managed to convince the Marshall to let them use their jaegar as a mini cinema for one of their dates. Needless to say it was their best date. 

It was a dark a busy night. The month had been hectic as it was the peek were high classed kaijus appeared. Everyone was on their toes and everyone was anxious about what might happen. 

At 9.30 p.m. the alarm blared through the speakers, the Marshall demanded Taeyong and Johnny to be in their ajegars and be ready for deployment in 10 minutes. 

It was a hurry to get ready and be briefed. The kaiju was one of the largest they have ever seen, but Ten and Yuta’s jaegar was down, Chris was hurt and Wu Lei was still recovering from his previous fight. Alex was partnerless, so they had no choice but to deploy Taeyong and Johnny only. 

“Hey baby, it’ll be alright. We always win this don’t we,” Johnny said while putting on their uniforms. He sensed the nervousness and anxiety within Taeyong. 

“Yeah... we’ll win this,” Taeyong smiled up at Johnny, ignoring the feeling of unsettlement within him. 

Johnny cupped Taeyong’s face and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Taeyong replies back, taking one last look at Johnny before putting on his helmet and entering their jaegar, the feeling of yearn and sweetness still lingering on his lips. 

Before they knew it, their jaegar was hoisted in the air by several helicopters and they were on their way to the battle field like countless other times. 

Taeyong looked over to his left to find Johnny staring straight ahead. He could see the beads of sweat rolling down his side burns and could tell that his boyfriend was nervous. Well Taeyong himself was too. They didn’t know how they would fair. This was one of the largest kaijus they have ever seen and they were the only jaegar up for deployment. Taeyong gulped and looked forwards, trying to steady his heartbeat. 

“Deployment ready in 3... 2... 1...” Taeyong and Johnny shared a glance whilst a lady said through speakers. They shared a smile, and when the familiar “Drop” sounded, their jaegar was let go into the ocean to face the ugly monster. 

“Good luck pilot Taeyong and pilot Johnny. We hope you come back safely,” the lady said. 

“Lets do this baby,” Johnny said through heavy breaths as they tried to spot the kaiju. 

“Lets send this ugly ass back where it came from,” Taeyong said. 

For the next hour or so, everything was a total blur. There were fighting, shouting, grunting. Taeyong remembers hitting his head against one of the panels and he was fighting with a pounding headache. Things were worse than they thought it was. 

There was not just one kaiju, there were two. One had just emerged from the waters while they were battling and now Taeyong and Johnny had to fight off both kaijus without any back up. 

“Baby come on we can do this,” Taeyong said through gritted teeth. “Initiate plasma blaster.” 

“Plasma blaster initiating,” said the robotic female voice. “Plasma blaster ready to fir-“ then, out of a sudden a huge force hit the jaegar and forced the pilots out of balance. The jaegar fell into the waters with a huge splash. “System failure, plasma blaster unable to fire.” 

“What...” Johnny muttered as he got up. “What are these things?” He asked as he pressed several buttons to try to reboot the system. 

“To both pilots, Jaegar Atom and Saber Luna are on their way as back up. Hang on we are coming to get you.” The speakers sounded. 

“About time...” Johnny muttered.

“It’s tail, its like a hammer of some sort. Shit...” Taeyong pushed himself back on his feet and scanned their surroundings for the kaijus. To make matters worse, it was 10.30 at night and it was raining. It was pitch black and the kaijus which were dark coloured, blended in perfectly well. 

“Johnny I can’t see them were are they?” Taeyong asked trying not to sound frantic. “Do any of you see the kaijus?” He yelled into his mic.

“Our heat sensors indicate the kaijus surrounding you, 5 metres what no- 2 metres GUYS GET OUT OF THE-“

Before the woman could finish speaking, there was another blow to Taeyong’s left and the jaegar almost toppled over. Taeyong and Johnny both swung their arms to the left in hopes to hit a kaiju. It was too dark to see even with their spotlights. 

“Taeyong...” 

When Taeyong turned to his left to check on Johnny, he was met by an eye of a kaiju, staring right into their pod. The blow ahead caused a part of the jaegar to be damaged and there was a hole right next to Johnny. Johnny looked back at Taeyong with evident fear in his eyes. 

The two kaijus roared and it sounded like they would were celebrating. Taeyong guessed what might happen next. 

“Johnny eject now. Johnny eject from the jaegar!” Taeyong yelled frantically as he tried to undo the wires connecting his suit to the jaegar. “Johnny they’re going to take you!” 

“I can’t baby, you can’t run a jaegar on your own. It’s too dangerous, and we need to protect the people here.” Taeyong heard Johnny through the speakers in his helmet. Johnny sounded afraid, scared, Taeyong could feel those feelings. “C’mon Lets-“

There was a scream and a tail wrapped itself around Johnny and yanked him out of the jaegar. Taeyong watched as Johnny disappeared before his eyes. He felt the fear, the anxiousness, how Johnny didn’t want to go. 

“No no no no NO! Johnny!” Taeyong screamed as he scrambled after Johnny, only to be pulled back by the wires. “JOHNNY!” 

A memory flashed within his mind, it was Johnny and Dongyoung playing, then them when they first met during admittance day, then followed by Johnny introducing himself. Taeyong knew it was what Johnny was thinking. Then there was a flashback of when Johnny first asked Taeyong out. Taeyong could feel how Johnny truly felt that day. And the feeling was overwhelming. 

“Johnny come back!” Taeyong screamed into the open air.

“I love you Taeyong.” And then nothing. There were no more thoughts, no more feelings, no more Johnny. Just blank,

“No.... baby...” Taeyong stared after the hole. 

“Taeyong hold on we’re coming!” Ten’s voice yelled. 

Taeyong felt lost. He didn’t know what to do. Johnny was gone, forever. The shock kept him from recognising the pain his heart felt. 

Taeyong saw Johnny die, felt him die. And yet he couldn’t do anything. 

“System rebooted, heavy damage sustained on left pod, plasma blaster ready to fire.” The robotic voice sounded. 

Taeyong wiped out all those feelings out of his brain. Now his main priority was killing these kaijus and surviving. Even though there was only one pilot. In the corner of his eye he spotted the kaiju that took Johnny away and his blood boiled. 

“Engage plasma blaster,” Taeyong said and gritted his teeth. He stood back up and aimed his arm at the kaiju. “Fire.” 

Taeyong was able to withstand the force of the blaster and he watched as it struck the kaiju, how the kaiju shrieked then fell back into the water. But the strain for his brain was too much, he could feel it now. It was as if it was squeezing his brain and it hurt. 

“Great job TY, now get out of there,” Alex said through the speaker. 

“Roger,” Taeyong barely replied. The other kaiju was nowhere to be found, so Taeyong managed to lift up on leg, then the other and over and over again until he was walking towards the nearest shore where he felt his brain pass out and he fainted. The jaegar collapsed on the port of Hong Kong. 

-

Taeyong woke up the next morning. He was in an infirmary bed, and a nurse was at the foot of his bed taking notes. 

His head ached, heart ached even more when he remembered Johnny was gone. Without explanation, Taeyong trudged out of the infirmary, refused to look for his friends, got on a jet and took the next ride to Seoul. Because he couldn’t bear being back without Johnny. He couldn’t bear the thought that he watched and felt his lover die, and that he couldn’t do anything. 

Johnny was always able to protect Taeyong, but this time, Taeyong failed to protect Johnny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie it was one hell of a chapter to write. I was originally going to update weeks ago but midterms came and hit me like a truck, but it’s over ay and I’m back with another mess of a chapter. (Ok I almost cried while writing Johnny’s death scene that shit is sad and nasty why do I do this to Johnny and Taeyong.) 
> 
> Anyways, this chapter was just memories of Taeyong. I wanted to write more, about Johnny and Taeyong’s dates and their fluffies and smutties but it would’ve been too long. I might make a prequel to this story after I end it? Which is like 5 more chapters to go.
> 
> THANK YOU!! Everyone who waited for this update because it took a damn long time and I know it was frustrating. Hopefully I can make time to write the next chapter (which I have planned out and am very excited for). The next few chapters won’t be like sad sad but there will be drama and all, and maybe Taeyong might realise his feelings for Jaehyun???


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rumour spreads and it gets kinda nasty

There was a rumour spreading, a terrible rumour that could’ve cost Taeyong his career and Jaehyun is privilege as a trainee. 

Just yesterday, after the results and scores of each team was released, Ten had burst into Team 2’s dorms like a whirlwind on loose and demanded that everyone gathered in the common room for some drinks. “Don’t worry, Taeyong and I got special permission from the superiors,” Ten said with a glint of cheekiness in his eyes before he left the room just as abrupt as he came. 

They had this tradition that whenever the scores for each training team was released every 6 months, the team with the highest score would get to celebrate. It had always been Team 1 because well, they did have the best trainees as Ten would claim. And every time they celebrated the victory, the team would have drinks and food that the rangers had gotten from outside the compound. 

The common room’s table was filled with all sorts of drinks and packaged food from Shanghai. Chenle squealed in delight when he found his favourite Chinese food, Xiao Long Bao sitting in the middle of the table. 

“Hey kids, we got some booze, beer, wine, tequila, non alcoholic drinks for Chenle,” Chenle made a sound of dissatisfaction. “And all sorts of food. Taeyong and I went food hunting in the streets of Shanghai. Hope you like what we picked. Yuma also sent over some Japanese snacks and sweets. He also did have this note attached to it, ‘Knew you lot would get first place again. I did a great job as a trainer :)’. Well excuse me Nakamoto Yuta you weren’t even here most of the time,” scoffed Ten. 

“No Chenle, no booze until you’re old enough,” Taeyong said as he smacked Chenle’s hand away from the cans of beer. “There’s apple juice if you want.” 

Chenle grumbled about something like him growing up with adults, it didn’t matter if he was still not of age. But he still drank the apple juice Taeyong offered. 

“Aren’t you going to drink any?” Jaehyun asked when he noticed the ranger had only poured himself a glass of juice. He had gotten himself a can of beer and some dumplings. 

“Oh, I’m not much of a drinker. I can’t hold my alcohol well,” Taeyong replied. Jaehyun made a mental note about that in his head. 

Everyone had taken their seat at the table and the alcohol had started setting in. Jun Kai and Chenle were conversing about the food in Chinese. The others were watching animatedly as Yuk Hei and Ten were engaged in an arm battle. Each trainee had chosen a side were rooting for either Yukhei or Ten. 

“C’mon Ten, you gonna let yourself be defeated by a trainee?” Taeyong taunted from his seat. Ten was obviously struggling against Yukhei, who was pretty much twice his size. 

“Well its not my fault Yukhei decided to take gym class extremely seriously,” Ten complained and grunted from his seat. His face was about as red as the wine in his glass. “Christs sake Yukhei were you born with these muscles or what.” 

Taeyong let out a laugh and sunk back into his seat as he watched Ten struggle to not let his pride get hurt against the 6’2 giant he was facing. He liked this. It reminded him of his trainee days when everyone would have stupid challenges and battles to see who was the strongest. Though, no one dared go against Alex or Chris. Caucasians were huge. Him and Ten would occasionally engage themselves in an arm battle but Taeyong had always let Ten win. Knowing Ten, he would continuously ask for a rematch until he won. It was just like him to never give up until he succeeded. Though it could become too much at times. 

“Jaehyun this is like, your third can of beer are you sure you’re not drunk,” Taeyong commented when Jaehyun gulped down his last mouthful of beer and crunched the can. The two had been seated next to each other when Chenle wanted to switch places with Taeyong. 

Jaehyun threw the squashed can into the trash can and shrugged. “I’m a pretty good drinker. I’ve never really gotten drunk.”

“Wow, I wish I could drink like you. I’m drunk after my first glass, pass out after my third,” Taeyong said with a small laugh, recounting the many times he had passed out and needed Johnny or Yuta’s to carry him back to his room. 

“Well if you ever not want to drink but need to, you know who to ask to take your shot,” Jaehyun said and opened another can of beer. “I’m trying to get drunk today ad maybe have some courage to do some things I’ve never dared done before.” 

“And I wonder what those are.”

The evening went on and the members split themselves up into teams of 2 for beer pong. Vera with Ten, Yoojung with Yukhei, Junkai with Chenle, Zhangjing with Mark,Taeyong and Jaehyun. Jeno had excused himself and left early, claiming he was tired and had to go to bed. 

Ten, who prepared the game had come up with some really crazy dares. One of them involved telling the Marshall that he smelled like uncooked pasta. Zhangjing chose to drink not one but two glasses of beer. Poor Junkai had to take all the alcohol, up to the point where he could barely stand up straight without Chenle’s help. The game was to the death (of the liver) as Ten said. The teams were out the moment a member was drunk. Chenle had to lift Junkai up on his shoulders and carry the boy back to the dorms despite him wanting to stay. Mark, who couldn’t hold his alcohol well was drunk and zoned out on a chair. Zhangjing insisted that he watch the rest play the game. There were 3 teams left, Yoojung and Yukhei were going strong, Yoojung surprisingly could drink. Vera was on a thin line. And Jaehyun was true to his word, drinking every cup of Taeyong’s beer and yet he still wasn’t drunk. 

“C’mon Taeyong, drink up. Just one cup, one,” Vera’s words slurred and her face blushed red. “You don’t get to do this every other day do you.”

“Yeah she’s right, you should have at least one drink!” Yukhei shouted incredibly loud from his seat. “Its fun!”

“Well, it is that or sucking Ten’s toe,” Jaehyun chimed in. He did want to see what Taeyong was like drunk. Was he the cute kind of drunk, or sleepy drunk. Or maybe he even said nonsense when he was drunk. “I don’t really care if we win or not.”

Taeyong glanced at the cup of beer, then back at Jaehyun’s grin. “fine, only because I feel guilty Jaehyun has been taking my beer for me.” He grabbed the cup and gulped it down. 

“How is it? How is getting drunk?” Ten asked. 

“Spicy, and ugh. Dizzy?” Taeyong murmured to himself after placing the cup back on the table. “I’m not drunk! Lets get on with the game!” 

“He’s drunk isn’t he?” Zhangjing whispered to Yoojung. 

The game went on for another three rounds until Vera gave up and Jaehyun forfeited for the sake of Taeyong, who although was only on his second cup was close to passing out. 

“I’ll take him back to his room. See you guys back at the dorm,” Jaehyun bid goodbye to the others and walked out with Taeyong. “Lets get you back hyung.” 

Barely three steps out of the common room and Taeyong whined, tugging at jaehyun’s sleeve. “Jaehyunnie...” He whined, placing his chin on Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Carry me back.” 

“What?” Jaehyun asked in slight disbelief. “You want me, to carry you?”

“Mm,” Taeyong nodded, his eyes half lidded. “Pleaaaseee? Taeyongie is tired...” he asked, faking a cute voice. 

Jaehyun stared into taeyong’s Half lidded eyes, then at the now empty hallway. His heart was beating slightly faster at the thought of being in such close proximity with his... crush? Honesty Jaehyun still hasn’t figured out his feelings. 

“Fine, I’ll carry you back. What number is your room?” Jaehyun asked and he hooked one arm under Taeyong’s knees and another behind taeyong’s back. With a slight grunt, he lifted the ranger into his arms. 

Jaehyun looked at Taeyong one last time before sighing and walked towards the ranger’s hallway, with the ranger slowly dozing off in his arms. 

After five minutes of wandering about and finally locating Taeyong’s room, Taeyong had dozed off into a soft slumber. Jaehyun pushed the door open and walked inside, taking his time to notice the lay out of Taeyong’s room. It had a soft ambiance from the lamp on Taeyong’s desk. His bed was propped at the right corner of the room, other than the bed and the desk, there was nothing much in the ranger’s room. Jaehyun noticed Taeyong’s luggage at the foot of his bed, the clothes folded and stacked neatly. It reminded Jaehyun that Taeyong was only here for a limited amount of time. Sooner or later the ranger would have to leave Moyulan, and Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun snapped out of his thoughts and walked towards Taeyong’s bed. He took one last glance at Taeyong before laying him down on the bed and positioning him. 

“Goodnight hyung,” Jaehyun muttered before standing back up. 

“Don’t go,” mumbled Taeyong. His eyes were still screwed shut but his eyebrows furrowed. He had reached out instinctively and grabbed Jaehyun’s forearm. “Please don’t leave me, not again.” 

“Hyung?” Called Jaehyun, clearly taken back. “What do you mean not again?” 

“Please.. I’m begging you Johnny don’t leave me, alone,” Taeyong said, this time clearly. His voiced was laced with pain and loneliness, “I missed you, missed you so much,” tears wet Taeyong’s eyelashes and rolled down his cheeks and nose ridge. It hurt Jaehyun to see Taeyong like this. 

“Not again, not again, i can’t take this anymore,” Taeyong’s nose scrunched as he sobbed. His grip on jaehyun’s arm tightened. “I can’t let you leave me.” 

“Alright, Alright, I’ll stay hyung,” Jaehyun sighed, he couldn’t leave Taeyong like this. He could just, get up early in the morning ad slip back into the dorms before everyone else woke up. He knew Taeyong had a painful past but he never knew what it was. “Scoot over.” He pushed Taeyong lightly inwards the bed and crawled in under the covers. 

“Thank you,” Taeyong muttered, his tears stopped but his grip on Jaehyun didn’t loosen. As if he was afraid that the moment he let go, Jaehyun would leave. 

Jaehyun pulled off his shirt that reeked of alcohol and tucked Taeyong in the covers. “Goodnight hyung.” 

Taeyong hummed something that Jaehyun couldn’t catch and snuggled closer to the cadet. “Missed you, really did.” 

Jaehyun chuckled to himself. If the him a week ago saw the him now, he would’ve freaked out. Whatever he was feeling for the older male, he knew it wasn’t a simple teacher student feeling. 

~

Jaehyun remember waking up to the shock of not being in his own bed and having someone in his arms. 

“Holy crap, oh dear mother of holy Jesus what have I done?” Jaehyun muttered to himself as he ran his fingers through his hair. What was he thinking? Sleeping in the same bed as his ranger? What position would it put their relationship in? He was an idiot. 

Though, Taeyong did look pretty cute when he slept. For the first time, he looked like he was at peace. 

Jaehyun stared at Taeyong’s sleeping face for several more seconds before the other began to stir and awaken. 

“Johnny?” Taeyong’s eyes snapped open, and Jaehyun would never miss the disappointment that flashed through Taeyong’s eyes. “Jaehyun? What are you doing here? I-“ He looked down at Jaehyun’s naked torso and his face flushed a red deeper than the one he wore when he was drunk. “Did we do something?”

“By something you mean you cutely begging me to carry you back then you coercing me into bed? Yeah we did something.” Jaehyun watched as Taeyong’s face turned into something of panic. “Though, if you’re asking if we had sex, sad to disappoint but we didn’t.”

Taeyong relaxed and sunk back into the bed, smacking Jaehyun on his chest. “Stop mixing up your words. Why are you shirtless?” 

“Cause I drank a lot of beer, my shirt reeked of alcohol. Didn’t want to wake up smelling like a can of beer.” Jaehyun joked and retracted his arm. “Why, you don’t like what you see? I did work really hard for my ab though...” 

Taeyong blushed again and turned to face the other way. “You look fine. Now get up and go back to your room. We don’t need rumours spreading that we slept slept together.” 

“What do you men slept slept together?” Jaehyun asked with humour in his tone. He reached to grab his shirt that laid on the floor and wore it. 

“You know what i mean. What time is it?” Taeyong grumbled and pulled the covers up to cover his chin. “I’m so hangover i don’t think i can get up.”

“Its 7.13, and a Sunday. You don’t have to get up that early.” Jaehyun stood up and rolled his head. His neck cracking in all different directions. “Who’s Johnny?”

There was a moment of silence between the two, before Taeyong muttered softly, “Just someone, its none of your business.” 

Jaehyun decided not to ask any further and left the room. 

It was later during breakfast when everyone seemed to be staring at him when he entered the cafeteria. 

“Hey Le, why is everyone looking at me?” Jaehyun whispered to Chenle who seemed oblivious to all the staring and whispering. 

“Jaehyun!” Called out Junkai as he came jogging over. “Something happened, its real real bad,” he paused for a moment and brought Jaehyun to a corner without any prying ears. “Someone said they saw you carrying Ranger Taeyong back to his room last night, and you didn’t come out. Did you sleep with Taeyong? As in, do the sin?” 

Jaehyun’s brows furrowed as he ride to recall anyone that could’ve been out in the hallways that late at night. He remembered having not seen anyone on the way back to Taeyong’s room. “Yes i did sleep with him, no not in that sense, but he was having a nightmare and begging me not to leave. What was I gonna do? Say no?” 

Junkai let out an exasperated sigh and pinched his nosebridge. “Well whatever the heck you guys did, the rumour’s spread to the Marshall and now he wants you and Taeyong in his office. Now.”

Jaehyun stared at Junkai, hoping to find any hint that the older boy was playing a prank on him. But there were none. “I am so, so screwed.” 

 

The moment Jaehyun entered the office, he could feel the chilling atmosphere in the room. Taeyong was sitting on a couch, his shoulders slumped and head hung low.

“Jung Jaehyun, just the cadet I wanted to see,” the Marshall said, emphasising on the word cadet. Jaehyun winced at the tone of the Marshall. It was not one of friendliness. 

Jaehyun stood with his feet standing shoulder width, his arms crossed behind his back. He took a glance at Taeyong whose eyes seemed to be apologising. 

“It had come to my attention that you and Ranger Taeyong engaged in some.. nightly activities. Now, I do not jump to conclusions without further investigation, would you care to entertain the rumours? Ranger Taeyong here says he blacked out for most of the night and didn’t know what happened.” 

“I uh..” Jaehyun glanced at Taeyong, then back at the Marshall. “The ranger was drunk and tired after our celebration last night. It really was my fault i shouldn’t have asked him to drink. I had to carry him back and take care of him. Nothing happened. I swear!” 

The Marshall listened to what Jaehyun had to say, the looked at Taeyong. “Very well then, I trust you and your word. You have been a great cadet and I oook forward to seeing you on the field Mr. Jung. It would be a shame if you were to lose your cadet privilege.” He nodded at Jaehyun. “as for you Taeyong, I just hope you don’t make ay decisions you’ll regret. I know losing Johnny hit you badly, but i see that you’re beginning to get better after coming back to Moyulan.” 

“Thank you, Marshall,” Taeyong said quietly. 

“You two are free to leave.” 

Both Jaehyun and Taeyong saluted the Marshall and left the room. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Asked Jaehyun as they were on their way back to the cafeteria. 

“I don’t. I’m sorry i caused such trouble for you. I think its better to keep our distance for awhile,” Jaehyun was about to protest when Taeyong stopped him. “Even the Marshall said you are a good Cadet. I can’t have you losing your cadet privilege because of me. So lets just, keep our distance for the time being.” 

Before Jaehyun could utter another word, Taeyong had walked off and into the cafeteria. Maybe Taeyong was right, maybe it was best to keep their distance. At least until Jaehyun had his feelings sorted out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m back! Finally! I didn’t really have the time or motivation to write in the past 7 months ish. There are about 4 to 5 more chapters left and i really hope i get the time to write.   
> Also, did you realise I actually really do suck at writing love stores. I honestly don’t know how to write romance.


End file.
